


Finding Our Way

by CGYScribble



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: #Hella Long Story!, #Long Build-up!, #long-haul, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, Break Up, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gen, Growing Up, Heartbreak, Long Story and Very Slow Burn!, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Self-Discovery, Slow Build, Slow Burn Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Sports
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2019-09-30 03:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 94,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17215847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CGYScribble/pseuds/CGYScribble
Summary: In this lengthy slow-burn AU, Clarke and co. are a typical band of teenagers who are crossing into the high school threshold and their lives are about to become that much more interesting with the arrival of two new kids from Arkadia, Lexa and Lincoln Woods who inevitably find their way into the close-knit group of friends.This is a Clexa story and although it is going to take time(a long time) for our favourites to find their way to each other, rest assured they will find their happily ever after!





	1. A New Chapter

“About time you got here, Griffin!” Octavia shouted above the lively food court of Polis Mall when she saw Clarke approaching with her tray of food. 

“They got new paints in the art shop and I had to pick some up.” Clarke defended herself as she lightly placed her tray down then settled the numerous bags of art supplies and notebooks on the ground next to her. 

“How could you afford so many things? That place is expensive!” Emori asked, her hands digging through the bags Clarke unceremoniously placed on the ground.

“Win the lottery? If you did, you have to buy me some parts I need for one of my projects.” declared Raven who was now stealing french fries from Clarke’s tray while trying to avoid her slapping hand.

“I didn’t win the lottery, Raven. This was from that contest over the summer. The painting I did at the cottage won these supplies and it is the first time I’ve been to the mall since we got back.”

“Whatever. Your fries will do.” Raven continued to snap away fries from Clarke’s tray. 

“Everyone get what they needed?” Clarke asked the group at the table.

Octavia was there which meant Bellamy had to be somewhere nearby. Raven, Emori and Murphy were all picking away at the various trays of food between them. It was their custom to buy something different at the mall and allow everyone to eat a little from the assortment.

“The Jaha family finally sold their house a few days ago.” Emori said, studying Clarke’s reaction. 

The Clarke’s and the Jaha’s had been friends long before Clarke and Wells were born. Once they entered the world, they were inseparable. The sad news broke at the end of summer that Wells’ father Thelonious had his job transferred across the country which meant the duo would be forced to separate just as they were going to enter their freshman year of high school. Clarke was losing her best friend and she had steadfastly avoided having to talk about it.

“Speaking of, where is Wells?” queried Murphy who took a glare and an elbow to the ribs from Octavia.

“He has a lot going on right now.” Clarke said, staring at her food and avoiding the eyes of her friends.

“I met the family moving in to their place.” Said Raven.

“You met them already?” Octavia asked.

“They are going to be my new neighbours. The dad is a really big guy named Gustus. Like, freakishly huge. He’s like a lumberjack-type man with a totally bad-ass motorcycle. Think Aleks Paunovis from Van Helsing.” Raven was clearly ensnared in her own daydream by now and Clarke picked up a french-fry and threw it at her.

“That’s great Rae. It’s good to know you can fantasize about something other than the parts on your work bench.” Emori laughed.

“That isn’t the best part.” Raven now had a grin on her face as she picked up the french-fry that was thrown at her and bit down on it.

“Don’t keep us in suspense, Rae.” Clarke drawled.

“They have three kids all around our ages and I told him we would be willing to show them around.”

“How is that the best part?” Clarke asked, not seeing her point.

“Well, more friends for one. New people always have interesting stories and frankly, you guys are starting to bore me. I need new entertainment. One guy and one girl, but I can't remember the names. Raven was now drawing suspect looks from her friends but she continued on. “Maybe If we become friends with them, Gustus will let me ride ride his motorcycle!”

Everyone at the table collectively groaned at Raven’s suggestion.

“What, I actually meant his motorcycle.” Raven gave her best ‘trying to be offended’ look to the group. “Besides, we know I’m only into Clarkie here.”

“In your dreams, Rae. Only in your dreams.”

“Don’t I know it.” Raven sighed and winked at Clarke who just laughed and shook her head as Raven reached forward once more for a french-fry.

“Don’t you know, what?” Asked the voice behind her as the newcomer’s hands and arms slid over Ravens shoulders then across her chest, wrapping her in a hug while a kiss was placed on her cheek.

Raven nearly spit out the drink she was sipping through her straw at the sudden arrival of her girlfriend.

“Anya!” coughed Raven, who grabbed a napkin and wiped at the side of her mouth.

“Clarke, are you flirting with my girl again?” Anya asked, her eyebrows raised in a questioning fashion. “How many times do I have to tell you? This one is mine.”

“S’ok babe,” Raven answered for her with a smile. “she can’t do for me what you do.”

“Seems all I’d need is a motorcycle.” Clarke mumbled, but loud enough everyone could hear.

Everyone at the table began to crack up. Everyone but Raven whose cheeks now wore a crimson shade dark enough to convince Anya to retract her arms and place them on her hips while she waited for an explanation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is going to be a lengthy one and I'll share some of the details with you here. I plan on making it a series and the details are as follows:
> 
> 1 - High School  
> 2- College/University  
> 3- Post Schooling Lives(some adventure, some domestic)  
> 4 - One shots
> 
> These are all going to take some time to publish and I'm working on them all as I write the first one. I look forward to seeing where this takes us all and I thank any and all of you willing to stick with me as I work my way through this AU(especially for your patience because it will be important as I start to weave the story together for you all). I promise, there WILL be Clexa, it's just going to take some time before they realize what they could be with and for each other.
> 
> Feel free to yell at me in the comments, say you enjoy the story, maybe offer suggestions or just to stop in to say "hi". I look forward to hearing from anyone and everyone. :)


	2. The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Woods family have a new beginning in Polis and both Lexa and Lincoln discover a world much different from the one they have always known. Lexa starts to think maybe the move won't be so bad after all.

“I promise you two will love it here. It's going to be a lot different than what you are used to.” Gustus had said this numerous times through the summer but the closer and closer they got to their new home, he felt like he was trying to convince himself more than his kids. As they drove through the neighbourhood toward their destination, his eyes constantly found the image of his daughter sitting in the back seat of the 1974 Jeep Cherokee.

Lexa sat in the same position on the tan coloured fabric seats with her blue hoodie pulled up over her head. Her eyes stared blankly outside and her arms wrapped around herself trying to find comfort in her situation. She was distracted by the music that played loudly in her ear pods which silenced the world around her. A world she was more than happy to ignore for as long as she could.

Lincoln on the other hand was happy to discuss what the future held for him. Numerous college scouts approached him during his off season training leading to his varsity year and informed him they would have their eye on him even if he played in a smaller town. It drove him to work harder and he was determined to make a good impression with his new teammates.

Lexa on the other hand, had the complete opposite perception of her future. She was just as driven as Lincoln but she was frustrated that she would be trying out for a team that finished dead last in their inaugural season at Polis High. Soccer was her life and had been since she was six, she had carefully crafted the image of her future in her head and not once did the notion of moving to small town hell a part of it.

As far as she was concerned, she was being placed in soccer purgatory and she doubted any scouts would find their way to this tiny hole of a town. She had her team and her friends back in Arkadia, now it was strangers and failure. Lexa closed her eyes and let her head tap the window she leaned against in frustration. __‘All that work for nothing.’__  she thought to herself.

Gustus saw her frustration and sighed. Sometimes life wasn’t fair but he was determined to make things go as smoothly as he could for her. He had spoken to the coach of the high school team and they already knew about the transfer, stating they were excited for her to join if she would like to, and that there were a number of skilled girls who would be joining the team this year.

He had met their new neighbours the Reyes family and they seemed nice. He also met a girl named Raven who he hoped would become fast friends with Lexa. When she offered to introduce her to her friends and show her around the town, Gustus accepted on Lexa’s behalf.

“We are almost there.” Gustus announced, pointing ahead at a row of houses. His movement caught the attention of Lexa who started to take a better look at her surroundings. These were nice houses and much bigger than where they lived in Arkadia. All of them has second stories and driveways. Where they moved from, you had to be rich to live in a place like that.

Lexa slid her shuffle out from the pouch on her hoodie, turned it off and pulled the buds from her ears to replace them them in their container so they could charge.

“We are going to live here?” Lexa asked, trying to keep an even tone to her voice but her wide eyes gave away her surprise.

“I didn’t show you guys pictures because I wanted it to be a surprise.” Gustus said. “We’re up here on the right. The light wood siding with the stone foundation. 2128.”

“We get to live there?” Lincoln asked but his surprise was much more evident because he had a huge smile on his face.

Gustus turned the Jeep into a driveway that could easily fit two cars and when he tapped the small box that was hanging from his window shade, the garage in front of them opened up. It was filled with belongings they boxed up weeks ago and had shipped by a moving company. Attached to the garage was what she considered to be an absolute mansion. It wasn't, of course but the three bedroom they had come from might have fit inside of the garage they just pulled up to. There was a two-door front entrance with windows on each side, a second level that seemed to have six different sets of windows, and she could see a large chandelier in the window just above the front door.

'What is going on?' Lexa wondered to herself, but that thought vanished when she caught sight of the motorcycle sitting off to the side on it’s stand, her smile returned and she darted from the Jeep and ran over to the sky-blue motorcycle. Her eyes roamed the body and inspected the paint on the bike, letting her hand slide over the smooth body of the tank was habit for her while she scanned for any possible damage the movers might have caused. She felt anger flare in her at the notion but calmed down when she saw it was in pristine shape.

Lexa built the bike with Gustus over the last two years and it meant more to her than anything in the world. She worked part time in the gym Gustus managed back in Arkadia and every single penny went to rebuilding this machine when she wasn’t training for soccer or spending what little free time she had with her friends.

“It’s fine?” Gustus asked, already knowing the answer. He was there when it was delivered and just as passionate about how careful it had to be placed on it’s lift.

Lexa nodded and stated, “Looks good.”

“C’mon Lex. Lets go check out our rooms.” Lincoln suggested as he pulled a couple duffle bags from the bag of the Jeep.

Lexa gave her bike another quick appraisal with her eyes and turned back toward the Jeep to grab a few of her bags.

“Ok.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lexa and Lincoln carried their bags up the stairs and went to the rooms they were told were theirs. After a few steps from the top of the stairs Lexa veered left and Lincoln to the right, both dissapearing from Gustus’ sight.

Were it not attached, Lexa’s jaw would have fallen to the floor with the manner her mouth opened in shock. She never expected to have a room like this until she was made the big-time in soccer and cashing in on endorsements from major sponsors. At least, that was how she saw it.

She walked up to her queen size bed let out an audible squeak, spinning with a rush of happiness and then lunging back on the ridiculously comfortable bed. She threw her arms out to the side and grabbed handfuls of the comforter that she had now wrinkled and wrapped herself in a blanket cocoon, letting out another squeak with the understanding that this bed was actually hers.

It wasn’t the familiar single, one mattress with that annoying spring that poked her when she slept on her side with a squeaky metal frame like she had back in Arkadia. Her spirit couldn’t help deflate at the thought of Arkadia and the notion that by being as excited as she was, she was betraying her friends by accepting the move. Flinging her arms open wide and releasing the comforter to lay flat once more, she tried to ease the conflicting thoughts.

Lexa rolled off the bed and pulled a hair band off her wrist, tying her now static hair in a ponytail. She decided to keep looking around and the notion of still being able to look around excited her. Her last room didn’t even have a close and the only luxury was a two foot by three foot single-pane window that would only open when it wasn’t humid due to the swelling of the window frame.

This room had a large bay window with an alcove which consisted of a raised bench and light gray cushions and various smaller pillows. She wandered over and adjusted the pillows more to her liking. Once that matter was settled she looked at the two closed doors in the room that didn’t lead into the hall. She approached the one closest to her bed and after pushing the handle downward, she seemed confused for a moment when she didn’t see another door that would lead into the hallway. Then it dawned on her.

“We have our own bathrooms?” Lexa asked quietly, to no one particular but her heart started to race and a smile overtook her as it did when she launched herself on to her new bed. __‘I have my own bathroom!”__

“This place is amazing!” Lincoln said from the doorway. He saw Lexa open the door to her own bathroom but she hadn’t stepped foot in it and he knew exactly how she felt.

“Pretty crazy, isn’t it?” Lincoln asked.

“But, how? I mean, this place must have cost a bazillion dollars.”

“Think our folks sell drugs? We could be the kids in Breaking Bad and our parents are keeping a secret from us. This could be their way of buying our love.”

From behind, Gustus lightly smacked Lincoln in the back of the head. “No, your mother and I are not drug dealers.”

Lincoln had a grin on his face while rubbing the spot on the back of his head Gustus lightly smacked, pretending to be sore.

Lexa went back about her business exploring her room and walked over to the other door. There was a small heart-shaped key in the lock and she looked at it curiously, then at Gustus.

“Give it a turn.” he encouraged, nodding at the key.

After hearing the click, she turned the handle. Again, she was stunned.

This room was easily as big as her last bedroom and she didn’t understand what was going on. There are bookshelves along one wall, a desk with notebooks and a laptop on it sitting alongside another large window which will make for a great place to do her homework.

One wall had sliding door that was sitting open so she could see a dresser and a clothes bar. She didn’t have enough clothes to fill it, but that was OK with her. On a hanger hung what appeared to be a red jersey and she assumed it was forgotten by the previous owners of the home. Lexa imagined they had a lot of clothes to fill such a big closet.

Her attention moved across the room to where four posters hung on the wall. They were autographed and framed posters of Christine Sinclair, Mia Hamm, Hope Solo and her favourite striker, Alex Morgan on the walls beside the window.

“How…” Lexa asked, feeling tears roll down her cheeks. She didn’t understand what was happening or why it was happening but everything was beyond her expectations. She’s never imagined living in a place like this outside of the fantasy of being a pro, and with so many people out there fighting for the same thing she wanted, it was a dream. This has to be a dream.

Gustus was standing next to her now and she felt his arm wrap around her, pulling her in to his side for a hug.

“I know for a long time things weren’t easy. Your mom and I want you to see what that hard work can give you and the people you love. As long as you keep trying, you’ll have everything you want in life sweet heart.”

Lexa turned into Gustus and buried her head in his chest squeezing him tightly in a hug.

"I know you aren’t happy with having to move out here, leaving everyone and everything behind but I have a feeling about this town. You keep working at what you want it doesn’t matter where you live, your mother and I will be here to do everything we can to help you achieve it. Does that sound fair?”

Lexa pulled herself back out of the hug and clumsily wiped the tears off her face with the palms of her hands. She didn’t say anything but she nodded and smiled.

“Maybe this will help you get a little closer to your dream.” Gustus added, walking into the room and taking the one article of clothing off a hanger. A jersey that he handed to Lexa.

She raised it in front of herself and studied the logo. It was familiar and she was certain she’d seen it around their house in Arkadia only this one had a lot more detail and the lettering on this one said “Polis High”. The words were underneath the logo of a panther that appeared to be stalking forward as a predator. When she spun it in her hands, she saw the number “13” and the name “Woods” above it.

Lexa couldn’t help but feel some pride swell into her chest that accompanied a stiff inhalation. When she lowered it and turned to look at Gustus, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She realized it was Gustus and Indra who designed the logo.

“I know you will do great.”

As Gustus walked to the door of Lexa’s brand new room, he snapped his fingers together as if he’d forgotten something.

“Oh! We’re ordering dinner seeing as all out plates, glasses and cutlery are still in boxes. Any thoughts? Chinese, Italian, Mexican or other?”

“Pizza.” both Lexa and Lincoln answered.

“You don’t want to try anything new?”

“Everything is new here, dad.” Lincoln explained.

“You know what I meant, smart-ass. Fine. Pizza it is but tomorrow we eat a proper dinner. We are unpacking tonight and tomorrow. If it doesn’t get done, you both explain to Indra why you two just sat around eating junk food all day.” Gustus grinned as he turned and continued his way out of the room to order their dinner.

Lexa turned and looked at Lincoln who was still standing in Lexa’s doorway. Understanding filled their eyes and they both made their way quickly into the garage and brought in some boxes to start the unpacking.

As they started to pull open the top of two boxes, Gustus’ head appeared around the corner.

“You are allowed to look around the rest of the house before we start unpacking.” he laughed. “Check out the back yard but be careful, if you slip you might fall in the pool.”

“We have a pool?” Lexa asked as Lincoln jumped up to his feet from his knees and scrambled across the living room to the sliding door in the kitchen so he could see.

“We have a POOL!” Lincoln shouted confirmation which led Lexa to move with similar anticipation.

Lexa nearly flew past Lincoln due to her socks having no traction on the hardwood floor beneath her socks. She managed to grab a hold of his frame and the pair ran out into the yard.

 _ _‘Maybe this won’t be so bad after all’__  Lexa thought, but that was before Lincoln got that look in his eyes that told Lexa exactly what he was planning to do.

After hearing the splash, Gustus shouted from inside the house.

“Lincoln, If you don’t jump in the pool right now, I’m going to come out there and make sure you join your sister.”

After hearing the second splash into the pool, Gustus walked into the living room and resumed opening the boxes Lexa and Lincoln brought in from the garage. When he didn’t see what he was looking for, he walked into the garage and found the box marked “ _ _towels’__  and brought it in the house.

He pulled two out and walked them into the dining room, then put them on the deck railing outside the door, watching the pair splash around in the water.

“Use these before you come back in.” Gustus pointed at the towels.

“Got it.” they both said, until Lincoln finally got his hands on Lexa and dunked her, resulting in her staying under water for a moment.

“Go easy on your sister, Lincoln.” Gustus warned.

Just a moment after he relented, Lincoln felt his feet come out from under him and before he knew it he was gulping copious amounts of water from the pool. Lexa looked up at Gustus with a victorious grin.

“That’s my girl.” Gustus grinned.


	3. Hello and Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa decides the best way to get used to her new environment is to continue the routine she followed back in Polis and in doing so she gets to meet her new neighbour, Raven Reyes who gives Lexa the thought that perhaps Polis won't be so bad. 
> 
> Clarke has a difficult time saying goodbye to her best friend and decides that she just wants to be alone for a while rather than meet the new girl.

Lexa woke up the next morning and the sky outside was still dark.

She still wasn’t familiar with her new house so when she walked in the bathroom off the upstairs hall, she was puzzled when she couldn’t find her toothbrush on the counter. In her half-asleep haze, she couldn’t help but break into a smile when she realized this wasn’t a dream, that she had her very own bathroom that she quickly made her way to so she could start her day.

A little over a year ago, these early mornings became a part of her daily routine all because she heard that it was what her favourite striker did. If she wanted to be the best, she had to work as hard. She almost never missed a day, and those missed days were because she was sick and Indra refused to let her train.

“Even the best need to let their body recover.” Indra constantly reminded her.

The day began with a pre-mixed shake she always blended the night before. She had blended the one she was currently drinking the night before but now that they were in a bigger house and the walls didn’t seem paper thin she wondered if she could get away with turning on the blender in the mornings and not wake anyone up.

Once she was done the shake she cleaned the blender-cup and replaced it in the cupboard with the blender. She did a little stretching while loading the playlist in her mp3 player and looking at the weather app on her phone to see what the temperature was like. It was still summer so she wouldn’t have to throw a t-shirt over her sports top but it was habit to check, and she was determined that any significant change to a routine would disrupt the careful balance in her life she had created.

Lincoln once teased her about how clinical she was about her daily routine but when she discovered he had his own for training, she never let him live it down. Especially when she discovered he had been given a bracelet by a girlfriend and that he wore because “it was good luck”. Lexa steadfastly believed success was a byproduct of hard work.

Although Lexa never believed in superstition, when Lincoln had the best season he’d ever had and smashed the state records for yards rushed and most touchdowns in a season, recruiters began to take an interest in him. That also meant Lexa started to put some faith in that little bracelet Lincoln credited as being the reason for it.

She’d never tell Lincoln that, though.

She slid her feet into her runners and then tugged the laces on her shoes to tighten them - right shoe then left shoe. She stretched a little more, opened the lock on the front door and opened it, stepping outside where she completed her pre-run routine by tying the small bracelet she kept hidden from everyone around her left ankle and turning it so the logo of her parents advertising company faced forward.

When she straightened out and took in a fortifying deep breath, something different invaded her senses. Lexa could smell the trees and the grass around her. Usually she would take off in a slow jog, building up to a swift pace, but today she stood there in front of the door for a moment as her mind compared it to that of the city she had moved from.

The air smelled sweeter here, almost seductive to her senses. In Arkadia, it was a sprawling metropolis with concrete sidewalks and almost no grass, unless you went to Arkadia Central. Lexa tried to run there once but when some creep tried to follow her she quickly abandoned that idea, she decided to stay closer to home to be safer.

She had no idea how long she was standing there but the voice of a stranger broke her from the trance she was enjoying.

“Nice kit, new girl.”

Lexa’s eyes popped open and searched for the source of the compliment. Running across the road in front of her new home was a brown-haired girl who was wearing a similar outfit but a different colour. She was fit and looked to have a similar figure to Lexa, thin but it only added to the definition of the muscle on her frame. Lexa started to feel her competitive reflexes kick in but she forced it down. She didn’t know this girl.

“Thanks." Lexa responded. "Your is pretty nice too."

"Do you always run early?” Lexa asked.

Raven grabbed one of the water bottles from her running belt and took a swig and after she replaced it in her belt, she answered with enthusiasm. “Monday through Sunday! Name’s Raven Reyes. I’m guessing you are Alexandra?”

“You know who I am?” Lexa asked curiously.

Raven slowed then stopped at the end of the pathway leading up to the house next door. Her hands on her hips as she walked around taking in deep breaths with her head tilted back. She’s just gotten back from what looked like a good run because she had a lot of sweat on her body.

“I met your father the other day and he told me your name and that you would move in yesterday. I thought I could hear you guys in the pool but I didn’t want to come over and interrupt. I know moves can suck.”

“You aren’t from here?”

“I am, but a friend moved here four years ago from pretty far away. She went through a pretty rough patch and it took her a while to get used to being here.”

Lexa nodded her understanding when she thought of all her friends who now lived across the country. Yes they could use social media to keep in touch, but it wasn’t the same. She shook those thoughts from her mind and focused on her run.  She could feel the muscles in her body start to tighten up and she started to stretch them out.

Raven noticing her actions, tilted her head to the side and lifted her chin indicating to Lexa she should get going on her run.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to let you tighten up. I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself and say that if you need anything, I’m next door so don’t be a stranger. You should come by for lunch later, Alexandra.”

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll see you later. Oh! call me Lexa. ” Lexa said as she began to depart, waving at Raven and running off down the road.

“Have a good run, Lexa.” Raven called out to Lexa but she was already gone with her music playing much quieter than she used to play it in Arkadia to cover the sounds of car alarms going off or the honking of car horns of impatient drivers.

After a good hour of running, she felt like she could push on for more but decided she had done more than enough. She ran to the end of the walkway to the new front door and starting walking in circles to give her body a chance to come down from the run. She looked at her neighbours door and wondered if Raven might be interested in a running partner. It’d been some time since she had someone aside from Indra who could push her on her runs.

Lexa decided she would take her up on her lunch offer as she walked in through her front door, but at the moment she had more pressing matters and that was wanting to give her new shower another try.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In her kitchen, Clarke was sitting in the breakfast nook eating a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon thinking about the lunch to come when her cell chimed with a message notifying her that her friends group chat was active. After taking another mouthful of eggs, she tapped the screen to see the message.

~ **_**_Reyes has sent a new group message_**_**  ~

 **Reyes** : __Met the new girl this morning.__

Clarke frowned at the text. It wasn’t meant as a slight to the new girl, but more-so that it was a reminder that her best friend was being forced to move away because of his parent’s jobs. This text just reminded her that today might be the last day she ever gets to see him again. A new text bubble popped up below it. Then another, and another. It seemed everyone is awake.

 **Octavia** : __Good or bad?__

 **Reyes** : __I saw her when I got home from my run as she was going out for hers. New girl is fit as…__

 **Emori** : _ _Gross. She gets up way too early.__

 **Anya** : < **_**_unimpressed face_**_**  >

 **Octavia** : __Do we know anything else about her?__

 **Raven** : __Nope. I invited her for lunch today. Anyone want to join?__

 **Anya** : __I’ll be there, babe.__

 **Raven** __: I hope so. I want to show you off!_ _

**Clarke** : __Nice save, Rae.__

 __~_ _ **_**_Murphy has joined the chat_ ** _ ** __~_ _

**Emori** : __John and I can’t. I convinced him to go shopping with me.__

 **Octavia** : __Awwww. John is so domestic!__

 **Raven** : __You didn’t get everything yesterday?__

 **Emori** : __Nope. Don’t give him a hard time because I need to use him for his car. Oh, Harper is coming too, John.__

 **Murphy** : __< u **namused face** >__

 **Raven** : __Clarke? How about you?__

 **Clarke** : __Can’t. I have plans. < **sad face** >__

 **Raven** : __Sorry, Clarke. I forgot__. < **sad face** >

 **Octavia** : __I just had to cancel plans with Bell. I’m in.__

 **Raven** : __If anyone else is up for it, swing by my place for 11.__

 **Clarke** : __What about Jasper or Monty?__

 **Raven** : __They said yesterday they were going to be busy with something. They came by last night and borrowed some copper pipe and were super sketchy about it. Might be good to hide the new girl from them until she gets used to the new town.__

 **Emori** : __Gotta get ready to go. Let us know how she is.__

 __~_ _ **_**_Emori has left the group_ ** _ ** __~_ _

__~_ _ **_**_Murphy has left the group_ ** _ ** __~__

Clarke powered down her phone, ignoring the rest of the conversation and slid it away from where she was sitting. Her focus directed toward finishing her breakfast. This wasn’t going to be a fun day and it took her over an hour just to get out of bed and the last thing she wanted to do was take out her bad mood on someone she’d never met before.

Deciding she couldn’t eat any more, she took her plate to the garbage, scraping what remained into the waste bin. She sprayed off the plate and placed it in the dishwasher. She glanced around the empty house and sighed, coming to terms with the goodbye she would have to say to her best friend at their planned lunch before he and his family have to leave for their flight.

The group all had a big get-together two nights ago and although the Jaha’s were busy sorting out their move, Clarke made Wells promise they would get together the morning they left before the flight and Wells’ parents agreed as long as he was at the airport an hour before their 2pm departure.

Clarke had already experienced saying goodbye to her friends once before when her parents uprooted her to come to the States from Australia for work and the memory of how difficult things were for her was taking it’s toll. Going to the mall yesterday had been the first time in over a week she had been out with all her friends aside from Wells’ farewell party.

Even with technology, her old friends all started to get busy with their lives. To be fair, Clarke did too. Skype sessions turned to texts, turned e-mails, turned nothing and everyone went on with their lives and she assumed this would be the same with Wells even though they made similar promises to stay in contact. Her parents reminded her that the Jaha’s were friends and they always would be, but Clarke couldn’t understand. She only saw a friend moving away.

Trying to focus on the good, Clarke walked over and grabbed her phone, brought up her contacts and brought up Well’s number and sent him a text with a smile on her face.

 

 **Clarke** : __Canyon’s?__

It didn’t take fifteen seconds before a reply appeared.

 **Wells** : __Absolutely. See you there in 20 minutes?__

 **Clarke** : __Already on my way.__

Clarke put her phone into her pocket and sprinted up the stairs to grab the present she got him. Inside the carefully wrapped package was a framed photo of her and Wells.

They were at the lake and standing next to each other when just as they were about to have their picture taken by Thelonious, Clarke can be seen with a mischievous grin while she sprayed him with a small squirt gun right in the ear, resulting to one of the funniest scrunched-up faces ever captured in a picture.

It was her favourite memory and the it was the first moment she felt like America was truly her home. Since that day they’d become best friends and started what became the traditional summer vacation for the families. To this day he’d never seen the picture and she’d never told him what it meant to her. She didn’t think she needed to because after that day, she’d become a different person and it was all thanks to his friendship. Through him she’d met Raven because she lived next door to him and all the others just seemed to show up one day and fill a spot in her life she didn’t know she needed filled.

She snatched the keys from the shelf in the kitchen, ran through the front door and toward the car her parents left her to use while they were out of town. She backed out of the driveway as quick as she could(within the legal limit and safely), aiming to spend as much time with her best friend before their final goodbyes.

 ****1p.m.** ** **_**_The Airport_ ** _ **

It wasn’t without it’s tears from either of them and they hugged for what must have been a good five minutes before Thelonious said it was time for them to go. Clarke wiped the tears from her eyes and told him again that she’d miss him, and wanted to hear from him often, and that she would be in constant contact with him as well.

Now Clarke was sitting in her car and driving home from the small airport. She was deep in her own head with the knowledge the route would take her past the house that once belonged to the Jaha’s. For less than a second as she rolled by, she considered stopping and visiting Raven but she wasn’t in the mood. Especially if the new girl was there. She couldn’t understand why, but right now the girl was the last person she wanted to meet and that made her feel terrible because Clarke didn’t even know her name.

She continued on to her house about six blocks farther down the road and pulled into the drive. Her parents would be home in a few days, just in time to see her go off to her first day of high school. She pulled out her cell as she walked through her front door and turned it on. The group chat was lit up with messages as well as individual messages from Raven and Octavia but Clarke decided she had enough for today and threw her phone on to the couch and walked slowly up the stairs.

Clarke was exhausted and her bed was calling out to her. When she laid down, she grabbed one of her pillows and squeezed it tightly in a hug and released a steady stream of tears into it. Not long afterward her body succumbed to the stress-induced fatigue from her day’s event and falling into a fitful sleep.


	4. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa has a lot of conflicting emotions about the move to Polis from Arkadia. No move is easy, but she understands that she has to make the effort to find a place in her new life.
> 
> Stop One: Make new friends.
> 
> Octavia on the other hand makes an amusing mistake but once she finds out the situation, decides she is all in.

Lexa wrapped a large green bath towel around herself as she stepped out of her shower and moved to stand in front of the mirror above the sink. She swiped her hand across the cloudy mirror before her to see her reflection and when it It quickly covered itself again with the haze of steam from the shower, she had to squint in order to see her reflection.

She never had this happy problem in their last home because there were four sharing so little hot water. Now that she had the chance? She relished the opportunity to take an extraordinarily long shower and let the hot water go to work on her muscles and it felt like heaven.

It had taken her much longer than usual to get herself ready to face the world but she decided it was time to get her day properly stared after throwing on a pair of sweats and a loose t-shirt. She took one last look at herself in the mirror now that it was clear, the content smile on her face that reflected back showed that this is likely going to become her favourite room in the house.

Lexa hung her towel to dry and walked out of her bathroom with a question on how she was going to set up her room. She glanced at the few boxes neatly stacked up in the corner with no notion of how to make what she has fill her room. She didn’t have much in those boxes but she was fine with that because she planned on finding herself a job. Her birthday was just two months away and she would be legally allowed to work and she was excited at the prospect, though a little worried because getting a job in the city was probably easier in a small town like Polis.

As she made her way over to her boxes, a knock on her closed door caught her attention.

“Come in.”

Gustus opened the door and smiled at his daughter. “How was your first run in Polis?”

“It was really good. The air is much nicer here.”

“Is Alexandra Woods finding things about her new town that might be enjoyable?” Gustus teased.

Since they were told they were moving to Polis, Lexa could be seen wearing a perpetual scowl and spent most of her days in a funk. She had acted like the world was going to end because she had to leave the only city she’d ever known which included her very small but close-knit group of friends. It was also a considerable point of debate between Gustus and Indra on whether or not to uproot their happy family and move to Polis. When the potential for their families future had promise to help them attend College and provide a better life than their eight hundred square foot - three bedroom and 1 bath apartment could provide, they made the decision to seize it.  

Lexa didn’t say anything but Gustus knew could see it in her change last night when they sat around in the living room on pillows, eating pizza and semi-cold soda that she was forcing herself to temper her excitement at the house they could now live in. It gave Gustus a warm feeling to see both his kids view the move with optimism rather than dwell in the bleak outlook they had just a week earlier.

“It’s alright. I like that it's quieter, too." After a short pause she added, "I ran into someone this morning when I went out for my run.”

“Oh?”

“You met her the other day. Raven? The girl who lives next door.”

“What do you think of her?”

“She seems nice. She gets up for her runs earlier than I do.” Lexa admitted with a frown, perceiving the girls work ethic to be better than her own.

“I bet that is eating you up inside.” Gustus walked over to the window in the room and opened it to let air flow through the room. It was already a pretty warm day and it was only nine am.

“No. Well, a little. Maybe” Lexa answered. “I’m going to see if she uses an app to run with. If our times are close, maybe we can run together.”

“That sounds like you are making a friend. Can you explain to your brother how to do that? All he talks about is wanting to use the gym equipment I’m having delivered and set up in the garage next week.”

Lexa’s eyes opened wide at the mention they would have a home gym.

“Oh no. I’ve lost you too.” Gustus shook his head and gave his best sad smile. “Both my kids are never leaving the house. I’m going to be sixty and still having to remind you both to get up in the morning.”

Lexa punched him in the shoulder at his over-acting.

“Funny, dad. Actually, she invited me over for lunch today.”

“That is great. She seemed nice when she came over and introduced herself to me during my last visit. She had stopped by to take a boy around your age our with some friends as his going away party. Wells I believe his name was.”

“I guess they all had to say their goodbyes, too.” Lexa sighed, letting her mind wander back to her thoughts of Arkadia.

Gustus reached out and pulled Lexa into a hug, taking a deep breath and squeezing her gently and rubbing small circles in her back with his hand. He feel her closing herself up.

“Your mother and I are doing what is best, honey. It may not feel like it right now but you remember what Indra and I always tell you.”

“Yeah. You get out of life what you put into it.” she sighed.

“That includes people. I don't know Raven any better than you do, but she seems like someone who could be a good friend. I hope you give her the chance.”

“I know, dad. I will.” Lexa said.

“Who knows? Maybe the two of you will both be playing for the Panthers in the fall.” he added.

“Wait. She plays soccer?” Lexa asked, pulling back from her father with a concerned look on her face. “What position?”

With a hearty laugh, Gustus let his hands fall to his side and released Lexa.

“Why don’t you ask her that this afternoon?”

Lexa grumbled at the thought of Raven being on the team and her concern they could be competing for a position. It was clear to her that with her body type she wasn’t defence. She could possibly be a keeper, but she was likely a forward. Lexa decided in that moment she would be waking up earlier for her runs as well as increasing her diet to account for an increase in calories she was likely going to burn by running longer. Then there was the matter of setting up a workout plan when the gum equipment arrived.

“Oh no. Don’t go into that mode. Get to know her first.” Gustus warned.

“I’m not thinking anything.” Lexa innocently declared, turning and walking back to her boxes.

“Uh-huh.” He scoffed. “After lunch you should come home and I’ll take you and Lincoln out to the mall to pick up some things.”

Lexa shook her head. As much as she wanted to get lost in the fantasy of the future and her parents success, she decided that it was was theirs. They’d already done so much for her, she couldn’t accept much more which was another reason she wanted a job. She had to contribute something.

“I’m ok. I’ve got unpacking to do.” Lexa said.

“Lexa, you and your brother have a combined six boxes to fill your new rooms with. Half of his are trophies and gym clothes, yours are the same thing. You can’t go to school at a new town and a new school wearing three shirts and a couple pairs of jeans.”

“I’ve got shorts.” Lexa explained, “and I’ll get a job in a couple months. I can get stuff then.”

“That’s too bad. I wanted to give the two of a couple gift cards to pick up some things up and let you explore Polis a little. I guess I’ll just keep these…” Gustus said, pulling out a couple plastic cards he was planning on giving them. “…and give them to Raven next door for asking you over to lunch.”

Lexa looked at Gustus suspiciously, then at the cards, and finally back to Gustus. ' _What was he getting at_?' Lexa wondered.

“Maybe she can pick up some new cleats for the upcoming season or a new running kit. I hear she’s a very driven athlete.” he grinned as Lexa produced a very sincere pout. “She plays soccer, you know.”

“Fine!” Lexa swiped at the cards in Gustus’ hand but he pulled away just before she could grab them. “I’ll go to the mall.”

On her second attempt he let her snap them away.

“And you’ll go with your brother.” he added.

“And I’ll go with Lincoln.” she groaned, placing the cards on top of one of the cardboard boxes In the room. There wasn’t a single real drop of unhappiness in her eyes.

“Now, come downstairs and I’ll make you and your brother a proper breakfast.”

“We have groceries?”

“Where do you think I’ve been while you took your hour-long shower? Someone had to run to the grocery store.” he explained, then walked out of the room and closed the door behind himself. “Ten minutes.” he said, referring to when she should come downstairs.

“Ok.” was her simple but happy reply.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lexa spent the morning unpacking more boxes throughout the house until she felt it was time to go upstairs and change to walk next door. She decided that joggers and a t-shirt might not make the best first impression. Finding a suitable pair of shorts and a light blue, v-neck tee. She slipped her feet in her favourite pair of worn vans.

She walked out of the house and as she walked across the driveway, the garage doors were in their open position. She saw Gustus and Lincoln pointing at various spots in the garage and debating where the best place would be to put the equipment that would be arriving. She couldn’t help but have an idea or two herself, but she decided to bring them up later.

“I’ll be back later.” she said to the pair.

“Don’t forget you and Lincoln have plans in the afternoon.” Gustus reminded her.

“I know. I’ll be back in a couple hours.” she said, walking down the driveway then up the path to their new neighbours house. What she did notice, was that there were now a couple cars in their driveway she didn’t see earlier when she returned from her jog.

She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door and when it did, a shorter brunette girl tilted her head and looked Lexa up and down as if appraising her.

“She wasn’t kidding.”

“What?” Lexa asked, confused at the girls comment.

“O, leave the girl be.” yelled a familiar voice from inside the house, then she saw Raven walk around the corner with a cloth in her hands, cleaning something off of them. “Hiya Lexa. Come on in and have a seat.”

Lexa smiled, unsure what to say so she just walked in and slipped her shoes off.

“Those authentics?” Octavia asked, pointing at the shoes.

Lexa turned and looked at her shoes. “Er, yeah.”

“You’ve got my vote.” Octavia smiled, taking Lexa by the arm and leading her into the kitchen where Lexa saw another girl putting an assortment of cut meat, vegetables and cheeses on plates next to a hot press. Lexa smiled at her and gave a slight wave leading Anya to take the initiative.

“Hi. I’m Anya.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lexa.” she extended her hand for a handshake and immediately scolded herself for it. Anya smiled at the formality and shook it.

“I hope you like soup and panini.” Raven said, walking from the front door she closed once Lexa was shown to the kitchen. “We kind of just load up what we want and toss it in the press for a minute. Only rule is if you make it, you gotta eat it.”

“Sounds great.” Lexa said, taking a seat on one of the bar stools next to Octavia.

They all enjoyed their lunch and the conversation flowed smoothly. It was very clear to Lexa that Raven and Anya were together. Their proximity to each other was never more than a few feet and they were constantly brushing their hands together. She thought it was adorable they shared their sandwich because they liked the one the other made more.

Octavia was busy filling her in on the town, what is hot and what was not, and that the mall was pretty much where everyone usually hung out on the weekends because of the air conditioning.

“Whatever. It’s because of the boy you like who works at the Polar Shack, O.” Anya laughed, as she gathered up the empty plates for the table.

“Thanks, babe.” Raven said, looking up at Anya and was met by a wink.

For a moment, the room got quiet and everyone was letting the food settle in their stomachs. Lexa wasn’t planing on eating as much as she did but the soup was delicious and she insisted Raven show her the recipe when she started on her second bowl.

“So. What do you think of Polis?” Octavia asked.

“I’ve only really been here one night so I don’t really know what it’s like. I’m supposed to go to the mall later to pick some things up for school.” Lexa answered.

“If only you would have been here a couple days ago. We all went to the mall yesterday and grabbed what we needed. Well, all but Harper. You could have met everyone.” Octavia sounded a little disappointed.

“It’s OK. We’re all getting together on Saturday at Clarke’s place, remember? Lexa can come then.” Anya suggested as she returned to the table. “If you want, I mean. You don’t have to.”

“You should but I’ll warn you, if you show up wearing those Vans and Clarke sees them, you won’t get them back until she’s done drawing on them.” Raven laughed.

“Clarke?” Lexa asked.

“She would have come and met you today but she is spending the last day she has with Wells before he has to leave.”

“My father said you guys had a party for him the other day when you met him. He and Clarke were really good friends?

“Yeah. They are best friends but his dad had to take a job on the coast so he has to move. Clarke’s not in the best of spirits right now.” Octavia said.

“I know that feeling.” Lexa said quietly, her eyes on the table in front of her.

“So does Clarke. She moved here four years ago from Australia and the only person she really got on with was Wells. After that, you never saw them in public without each other.”

“Did they date?”

“Oh no! Definitely not!” Raven laughed. “They were just best friends, though if you ask me he had it bad. Clarke definitely didn't see him that way.”

Anya and Octavia nodded in agreement with Raven.

“But you two are together?” Lexa asked, not wanting to cause waves with her question and used the opportunity provided in discussing relationships to clarify what she believed.

“Yep! Almost four months now.” Anya said through a smiled reply while she looked beside her at the lunch host. Raven grabbed her hand and kissed it, causing Anya to blush a little. Lexa couldn’t help but smile at what she saw.

“Your parents are fine with that?” Lexa asked, and the moment she said it, she froze. It must have been apparent because they all looked at her for clarity. Lexa rattled off her next few words as if they were only one. “Imean, it’sok, likeyouknow. I’mcoolwithit. Girls. ButImeanlikedating? TheyletyoudateImean?”

Octavia, Raven and Anya all looked at each other then back at Lexa who was mortified she just insulted the pair. They let the silence hang just long enough to torture Lexa and then all burst out in laughter. Lexa exhaled the breath she didn’t know she was holding seeing their reaction.

“Oh my GOD, you should have seen your face!” Octavia howled as her head dropped into her arms on the table.

Raven and Anya were leaning in to each other and their shoulders bounced with the force of their laughter.

Lexa started to laugh, allowing the stress of the moment evaporate from her body but she still wanted to be clear.

“I didn’t mean…”

“We know.” Raven got her laughter under control enough to reply. “You wouldn’t have devoured a second bowl of the soup it you disliked our PDA. It's kind of our test for people we think we'd like to be friends with.”

“So how about we go into the living room?” Anya asked the group to move into the much more comfortable furniture in there.

Their answer was cut off by the ringing of the doorbell and before anyone could say anything, Octavia was on her feet and headed to the door.

“You guys go in there, I’ll see who it is.” Raven suggested but before they could push the chairs under the table, Octavia quickly entered the kitchen with her eyes wide.

“Lexa, this really hot guy is at the door. Said you were supposed to go out with him?”

Lexa’s eyes went to her watch and she groaned when she saw the time being three pm. She told Gustus that she was only going to be a couple hours.

“Sorry guys. I have to go.”

“Wait. That is your boyfriend?” Octavia asked, all manner of joking removed from her face, replace with envy.

Lexa was confused for a second then got a look on her face like she’s eaten the worlds most sour candy.

“He’s my brother. And gross.” Lexa raised her hand to her mouth, causing Anya and Raven to start laughing again.

“But he said you had a date…” Octavia seemed at a loss for words.

“Yeah, I bet he thinks he’s being hysterical right now.” Lexa watched Octavia process the realization Lincoln was her brother. “We’re supposed to go to the mall together and he’s driving.”

“But you two don’t look like siblings.”

“That’s because I was adopted.” Lexa explained.

She waved to Raven and Anya, thanking them for the delicious lunch and offered to invite them all over for lunch but at her place and said goodbye to Octavia who was now standing beside her as she put on her shoes.

“Nice meeting you Lexa.” Octavia said. “Next time bring you brother. I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name. Mine’s Octavia.”

“Lincoln.” he smiled at the brunette standing behind his sister. “Nice to meet you, Octavia.”

“Let’s go.” Lexa said to Lincoln, spinning him around and shoving him away from the front door and down the path to the sidewalk.

“Nice to meet you too, Lincoln!” Octavia shouted from the still-open front door of Raven’s house.

By now, Raven and Anya were standing at the end of the hall watching Octavia practically drool over Lexa’s brother. She wasn’t wrong in thinking Lincoln was hot, and it was clear the family prided themselves on being fit. When Octavia closed the door after not being able to see Lincoln from the doorway any longer, she turned to see Raven and Anya fall to the floor in hysterics. Octavia sighed and leaned back against the door with her mind recalling Lincoln’s physique. Although Raven and Anya were both laughing but she didn’t care.

“Dibs on Lincoln” she said.

Anya and Raven couldn’t believe they would be able to laugh louder than they were moments ago, but the tears were streaming down their faces as proof it was possible. After a moment, Raven sat up and collected herself as best she could. and got a concerned look on her face and asked before falling into hysterics again.

“Wait. Does this mean we won’t get any more free ice cream at the Polar Shack?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lexa followed Lincoln to the jeep parked in the driveway and she walked around to the passenger side, buckling her seat belt and glancing back at the house next door. She hoped that the other friends in the group were as friendly as the three she just met.

“Lex?” Lincoln asked as he hopped in the drivers seat and put his seat belt on. As he turned the key to start the ignition, Lexa had already brought her hand up to cover her eyes.

“Linc, don’t even think about it.”


	5. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke has a small heart-to-heart with her friends and Lexa revels in a newfound way to antagonize her brother.
> 
> And I think, Octavia and Lincoln 'might' just have a thing for each other.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Raven asked, her fingertips playing with the bracelet she’d given Anya for her birthday that hung on her girlfriends wrist. Their fingertips teasing each other with occasional brushes of contact.

“Absolutely.” Anya replied, brushing some of Raven’s hair behind her ear and giving her a quick kiss.

“I gotta go, Rae. If I’m late Kane is going to kick my ass.” Anya said, clearly unhappy but pulling back from Raven. She opened her car and hopped in the driver’s seat, slipping the seat belt on.

“Miss you already, babe. Have a great class!” Raven said as Anya smiled and shut the door with a wave of her hand. 

Raven watched her drive away and down the block until she disappeared around the corner. She turned her attention to her front door, and hollered to Octavia. 

“O, lets get going. Clarke’s gotta be home by now.”

“Be right there. I can’t find my sunglasses!” was the reply from inside the house.

Raven pulled her own sunglasses out of her pocket and put them on. As she moved to lean against l Octavia’s parents car, she pulled out her cell and tried Clarke’s number again. She hadn’t been reachable all day and when she got Clarke’s voicemail again, she hung up. 

“C’mon, Clarke. Answer your phone.” She let out a frustrated sigh. None of them have spoken to Clarke since she got back from saying goodbye and they were concerned. Clarke always had her phone with her.

Hearing an approaching vehicle, she turned to see Lexa and Lincoln returning from their outing and she waved as they pulled into their driveway. Raven pushed off the car she was leaning on and walked across the yard, smiling at the arrival of their new friend. 

“Hi guys. Good day at the mall?” Raven asked, tipping her sunglasses down with her eyes opened wide at the number of bags that were in the Jeep. 

“We, uh. We gave away a lot of our stuff when we moved. Start fresh. You know.” Lexa stammered. 

It took her a considerable amount of time to buy anything at the mall and every purchase she made, she scrutinized. It had taken her over half an hour of review browsing on her cellphone to make the decision on what kind of cleats she should buy for the upcoming year because “durability means quality.” Lexa was never fond of needing too many things, clothes or otherwise.

“I’m kidding. You should have seen the stuff Octavia left the mall with yesterday. I think Bellamy threw his back out trying to carry it in from the car when they got home.” Raven joked and giving Lexa a reason to smile. 

“Do you want to come in for dinner? Our dad is going to cook tonight but I’m not sure what it is.”

“I can’t I’m afraid. O and I are going to go look in on Clarke and we plan on grabbing her and taking her out for dinner. Any other time I’d invite you but it’s not a good time.”

“Oh, yeah. Her friend.”

“Yeah. We all gotta be there for each other.” Raven explained. “Actually, I came over to get your number. We didn’t get it earlier and if it’s OK with you, we’ll pass it around to our friends. Get you in the network.”

Raven handed her phone to Lexa and waved at Lincoln. “You should put yours in there too.” she suggested to Lincoln. After sending both Lexa and Lincoln a text so they could add her to their contacts, she bid them farewell.

“I’ll text you about the party and give you the details. See you guys later!” Raven said, putting on her sunglasses and giving a small wave. After Lexa and Lincoln said goodbye and grabbed their bags, Raven hollered at her front door which Octavia still hadn’t walked out of.

“O, Let’s get a move on. I’m hungry and Clarke is AWOL!” 

Octavia hustled out of the house with her sunglasses on her head moving quickly toward her parent’s car, joining Raven who was walking back from the Woods’ driveway. She tried to but couldn’t see Lincoln or Lexa because front door closed just as she got in view of it. 

“They just get home? I thought I heard you talking while I was putting on my shoes.”

“Yep. I got Lexa’s number so we can give her details about the party.” Raven explained.

“Was Lincoln there?”

“Yep. I may have gotten his number as well.” Raven teased as she waved her phone at Octavia then slid it in her pocket, then hopped into the passenger seat of Octavia’s ride.

“It’s only a few blocks to Clarke’s. It’s a nice walk. Unless I get the number.”

“Fine, I’ll give you her number.” Raven pulled out her phone and sent her Lexa’s contact info.

“Who said I was talking about Lexa’s number?” Octavia smiled as she backed out of Raven’s driveway. She sat in the middle of the street waiting, and Raven smirked at her.

After a few moments of Raven tapping her phone, Octavia’s phone beeped. Octavia nodded, allowing her sunglasses to slide down and fall over her eyes. A quick adjustment and she grinned at Raven, putting her foot down on the gas.

“Now we can go.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The front door opened and Gustus could hear his kids coming in from the Kitchen so he walked to the doorway to see what they managed to find during their four hour shopping odyssey in their new town.

“How did the shopping go?” Gustus asked, watching his kids come into the house with a few bags in each of their hands. “Find everything you were looking for?”

“I think Lexa would have bought the whole mall if I didn’t tell her she had to carry her own bags out to the Jeep.” Lincoln joked.

“Ha. Ha. Lincoln.” Lexa deadpanned. “Dad, next time you go shopping with him and I’ll go by myself.” 

“It couldn’t have been that bad.” Gustus wondered aloud.

“Lex, what is Octavia like? Does she like guys who work out? What year is she? Does she work out?” Lexa fired off the questions in short-order, raising the tone of her voice to sound whiny. Lincoln’s face started to blush but Lexa continued, “Do you think she’d like this shirt? Is she funny?”

“That’s it. I warned you.” Lincoln dropped his bags and moved menacingly toward Lexa.

She shrieked and made use of her agility, running up the stairs two at a time ahead of Lincoln who was quickly making up ground behind her. As they both scrambled upward, they were both laughing but Lexa continued her taunting. 

“Oh Lexa, I wuv Octavia. She’s so pwetty!” all the while smacking her lips together and making kissing noises.

Watching his kids embrace their new home was everything to Gustus. The smile he had on his face was ear to ear and he turned in direction of the kitchen to see Indra standing there with a matching smile.

“Did you get it?” he asked.

“Oh, you bet I did.” she answered, turning her cellphone to show Gustus the video evidence.

They could hear Lexa once again shriek upstairs, followed by contagious laughter that rolled throughout the house. Lincoln must have gotten a hold of her.

“I am glad they seem to like it here. Seems our boy already has a crush and our girl has met a nice group of new friends.”

Indra put her cell down on the table in the hallway and walked over to Gustus, slipping her arms around behind him and tilting her head giving Gustus the opportunity to lean down and give her a kiss.

“It feels like a dream. We have worked so hard for this and now it’s here.” Indra said as she squeezed Gustus in a tight hug. 

“We’re just getting started, love.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Ooof!”

Clarke shot up in her bed, startled by the noise made by the tangled mess of limbs that attempted to climb through her bedroom window but now lay unceremoniously in a heap on the floor, one leg suspended in the air by a shoelace which was caught on the window latch. 

“Raven! Can’t you use the front door like a normal person?” Clarke couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Raven dangling from the window latch.

“I would if it was half as fun as climbing up the tree and going through your window.” She justified, wiping her hands on her jeans. “Besides, I had to get in to open the door for Octavia. She’s downstairs waiting for us.”

“You could have rang the bell.”

“We’ve been ringing it for ten minutes! We thought you were ignoring us.” Raven managed to slip her foot out of her shoe, allowing her to unhook the lace from the latch. 

“Maybe I wanted to be left alone, Rae.”

Clarke grabbed her pillow and threw it at Raven who took the brunt of it in the head, not that Raven would take the hint. 

“Not a chance Clarke. We’re going out.”

“I don’t feel like going out. I have to make dinner.”

“Not when you have two very awesome friends who are going to treat you to dinner. Now get up!”

“Raven…” Clarke grabbed another pillow from her bed and buried her face in it.

“C’mon Clarke. We’ll make a deal. We order something and we just chill watching some movies.”

“What do I get out of this?”

A voice could be heard outside the window Raven just climbed through.

“If you don’t open the door I’m going to keep ringing the bell. I know you are awake Clarke! I saw Raven fall!”

“You get to hang out with your best friends. That’s what. A two-for-one. So you are really coming out ahead, especially because we’re buying you dinner. A Three-for-one.”

“Fine.” Clarke mumbled through the pillow with feigned resignation. She was pretty hungry, and now that she was awake, she figured the company might do her good.

“We’re on our way, O.” Raven yelled back through the window, hearing the tone of Clarke’s voice.

“Anything but pizza.” Clarke declared before she got up from her bed.

“Deal. Now let’s go let Octavia in before she goes all primitive on us and kicks in the door.”

After letting Octavia in, they ordered some Vietnamese and made their way into the living room, loaded a movie none of them were really into and listened to it in near silence. Nobody wanted to say anything and it felt awkward and it was very unusual for the trio who would usually be firing off commentary, making fun of a scene they were watching or teasing each other. The movie ended and Octavia placed her take-out container of noodles on the coffee table in front of her and pushing it away.

“Well, that movie sucked.” Raven said, placing her empty container next to Octavia’s.

“So… how was he?” Octavia asked after a prolonged silence that irritated her. 

It was something they agreed they wouldn’t talk about during the ride over that resulted in Raven shooting daggers at her from her chestnut-coloured eyes.

“O. What the hell?”

“We’re all going to miss him. He was everyone’s friend.” Octavia reasoned.

Clarke wanted to be mad at her friend for bringing it up, but she was right. Wells was everyone’s friend and he was Raven’s neighbour before Clarke had ever moved to Polis. 

“It’s OK Rae. She’s right. He was all of our friend.” Clarke let out a lung-full of air and leaned back into the couch. 

“Still is.” Raven added, nudging Clarke with her shoulder and giving Clarke a reason to smile.

“Neither of us could say anything about him leaving, not until it was time for him to go. Then I was crying. His last memory of me is that I was crying, guys.”

Just because he was everyone’s friend didn’t mean Clarke sill didn’t hurt. Clarke’s eyes started to tear and she fell over into Octavia. Octavia quickly took Clarke’s hand and Raven abandoned her dinner next to Octavia’s. 

“We’re all going to miss him. High school won’t be the same but I’m sure he’ll make new friends.”

“Besides, you two can Skype all the time.” Raven added, “He may be across the country but you two still can chat. We all can.”

“I know. But I already miss him.” was all Clarke could think to say.

Raven and Octavia spent the next thirty minutes revisiting many of the good times and the many schemes they got up to with Wells which helped boosted Clarke’s mood. Remembering Wells’ father Thelonious and his scowl every time they got caught. The memories made her started laughing again which was a relief to both of Clarke’s friends.

“We met the new girl today.” Raven said, changing the subject from their departed friend.

“Are we going to keep calling her ‘new girl’ or does new girl have a name?”

“Lexa. It’s short for Alexandra. She’s nice and I think you’ll like her. Anya thinks she’ll be a good fit with all of us. She is from Arkadia so a transplant, just like you.”

Clarke smirked at Ravens attempt at a joke.

“We invited her to the party.” Octavia added. “You’ll get to meet her then. And better, you get to meet Lincoln! Oh. My. God. Clarke, he is totally my type.”

Clarke looked over to Octavia and couldn’t help but grin. 

“That’s not saying much, O. A pulse and the ability to stay upright half the time, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Hey!” Octavia poked Clarke in the side and hitting Clarke’s sensitive spot which sent her into a fit of giggles. “I’m not that kind of girl Clarke! But for Lincoln… maybe.” she added with a sly grin.

“Oh whatever O.” Raven laughed. “Bellamy would kill you both for even thinking that way. Besides, I thought you were saving yourself four your ‘one true looOOoove’. ” Raven finished her teasing by wrapping her arms around herself and swaying side-to-side.

“God, you two.” Clarke jokingly groaned, getting up from the couch and between the two to grab the take out containers to the kitchen while Raven and Octavia wrestled around on the couch, each determined to get the better of the other. 

As Clarke emptied the remnants from the containers into the waste bin, she watched her friends and smiled. She knew they’d miss Wells, they all would, but the love she had in her life was abundant. Her parents were there for her and her friends always had her back, even when she was feeling down and didn’t want anything but to hide from the world.

After all, Wells was only a Skype call away. She decided she could still be there for him even if he didn’t live a few blocks away any more.


	6. Introductions Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa and Lincoln make their way over to Raven's house for the big party before high school begins. Their new life in Polis is vastly different from their old life in Arkadia but with the help of new friends who are starting to take root in their lives, the future is a bright one.
> 
> Also, Bellamy feels the need to try to make an example of one of the newcomers.
> 
> Part 2 will be posted tomorrow evening. :) Enjoy!

Lexa, let’s go!” Lincoln hollered from the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, seriously considering the notion of heading over there and letting Lexa show up whenever she was ready.

He’d patiently waited for his sister for the last fifteen minutes downstairs and he could hear the music playing next door. There were already quite a few people who had arrived and every time he called her she would tell him to, “just wait a minute”.

“I’m heading over there now.” he yelled and the door to Lexa’s room swung open. She hustled down the stairs in a pair of denim shorts and a loose, white buttoned collared shirt. It was a relaxed look and would be light enough to combat the late-summer heat. As she slipped her feet into a pair of flip-flops, she avoided Lincolns’ unimpressed look then scampered through the open door.

“See you later, Mom, dad.” Lincoln shouted to their parents who were sitting just outside the kitchen on the deck.

He didn’t wait to hear their response, but if he had he would have heard them say to have a good time. They trusted their kids and as they sipped the wine in their glasses, they let their fingers find their way to each other and twine together. It was only their second day in Polis and their kids were already out of the house.

“Think we have the house to ourselves for the night?” Indra took another sip of her wine and grinned while looking over the rim of her wine glass.

“For a few hours at the very least.” Gustus said with understanding in the eyes that looked back at his beautiful wife.

They sat deeper in their chairs and their fingers teased each other with soft touches and little caresses.

“Let’s enjoy this a little longer?” Gustus suggested, lifting his chin and referring to their moment of relaxation in their chairs.

“Forever.” was all Indra could answer as she leaned over and kissed the back of Gustus’ hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lexa and Lincoln pushed their way through the partially open door and moments before Lincoln tried to close it, Anya came hustling toward them from down the hall, weaving and dodging the bodies that were staggered throughout.

“Leave it open!” she called to Lincoln, hustling toward them and propping a shoe in the doorway to make sure it stayed open. When she stood straight up again, she looked at the pair and waved her hands about. “Have to let the air circulate or it’ll be a sauna in here, even with the air conditioning.” she explained.

“Makes sense.” Lexa said, turning to look at the many people who have already arrived and taken positions through the house. Decorations were strung throughout the house and everyone was talking and laughing with their friends.

“Hi. I’m Lincoln.” he said.

“That’s right. The football player. Lexa mentioned you were going to be our all-star running back this year.” Anya stated matter-of-factly. “Right to state?”

Lincoln smiled and shrugged. “We’ll see when we get on to the field and start practicing.”

“Humble.” Anya nodded her approval. “Not the usual kind of muscle-head we are used to having around here trying out for the football team.”

Lexa grinned but she could see Lincolns silent request to go easy tonight. Swallowing the sarcastic comment she wanted to reflexively say, she relented and gave him a pass. The look she gave him was one that said “tonight only”.

They weren’t so subtle that Anya didn’t notice the small exchange between the siblings and it warmed her heart a little.

“Glad to see you both made it. Fashionably late I might add, nicely done.” Raven said, walking up and hugging Anya from the back and resting her chin on her girlfriends shoulder to be able to greet their newest guests.

“The big one is Lincoln.” Anya said, causing Raven to chuckle and Lincoln to blush a little.

“I know, hun. Met him yesterday, remember?  C'mon guys. Let me show you around.” Raven suggested, releasing Anya from her grasp. “There are two bathrooms, one on the main floor over there and one downstairs off the games room.”

“You have a games room?” Lincoln asked.

“Yep! A pool table, darts, video games and a card table. Usually only the pool table and the video games get used, though.” Walking through the living room she pointed in a few more directions.

“Kitchen is right through there. There’s a few kinds of pizza unless Murphy has eaten all the meat ones. There are a couple vegetable pizzas too in case you don’t want the meat ones. And a cheese only as well. Never know what people like these days.”

Raven led them outside through some patio doors and there were lights strung up but she explained they will look great when the sun goes down. She explained that they used to have a fires but seemed to avoid the reason why she isn’t allowed to anymore, just that fences are expensive and her parents no longer felt comfortable with them being started at large parties. Lexa tried to get her to explain why, but Raven only grinned and continued with her tour.

“There are coolers of soda and water in every room so if you want one, feel free to take what you’d like.”

“Really? Thanks. You have put a lot of work into this.” Lexa said as she looked around the room.

“I always host the new year party. Griffin hosts the end of year bash. Wait until you see those. Legendary!” Raven exclaimed. “Also, part of why we can’t have fires when it gets dark any more.”

“And fireworks. We can’t have fireworks!” A boy shouted from the kitchen.

Raven grinned and nodded. “And we can’t have fireworks.”

“Sounds like we missed a fun party.” Lexa remarked while Lincoln went and retrieved two bottles of water from a cooler, only to return and hand one to Lexa.

“Oh! Upstairs is absolutely off limits. Meaning if a neatly folded bed sheet is wrinkled, a pillow is out of place or a comforter is misaligned, my parents will absolutely kill me. I in turn, will have to murder whoever got me killed.” Raven nodded to emphasize her seriousness.

“Babe, that isn’t how it works.” Anya laughed, sliding in beside Raven.

“I’ll figure it out. I’m smart.” Raven grinned.

“And on that note, Raven and I are going to head downstairs. Feel free to mingle and say hi to anyone you want. I think Octavia is in the kitchen. After you say hi to her, come down and we’ll introduce you to some others in the group. I think everyone is down there but Clarke.”

Lexa cracked a smile and followed her brother into the kitchen to say hi to Octavia. They moved through the rather full living room into the kitchen which was almost as full. Hands were reaching for pizza while the room filled with laughter and conversations ranging from the new school year to the gossip of who liked who.

“Lincoln!” Octavia shouted and jumped down from her stool and made her way over to Lincoln and Lexa, a slice of pizza in her hand. “Here. Try this! It’s Peco’s! Best pizza in Polis.”

Before Lincoln knew it, he was taking a bite of the meat-covered, dough and cheese creation that Octavia was feeding him. Lexa was doing everything she could to not fall over with laughter watching her brother chew then swallow the pizza.

“Delicious.” Lincoln said, looking at Lexa for help but seeing the tears fall from her eyes due to her laughter, he knew none was coming. At least, not from Lexa.

Octavia pulled the lice back and took a bite and moaned. “So good. Lexa?” she offered, holding the pizza out for her to take a bite.

“I’m good. We ate before we came over.” she glanced at Lincoln who again, thanked her with his eyes. “We’re training so we’re counting our carbs right now.”

Octavia’s mouth opened wide with embarrassment and she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s OK,” Lincoln smiled his big friendly smile. “I’ll just spend a little more time working out tomorrow.”

“Who is your friend, O?” asked a boy with dark, wavy hair. As he approached he sized up Lincoln while waiting for his sisters introduction.

“This is Lincoln. And this is his sister, Lexa. They are from Arkadia and just moved into the Jaha’s place.” Octavia explained.

Bellamy lifted his soda and took a sip, staring at Lincoln for a second then to Lexa who got to see a complete transformation in the newcomer. “Arkadia? I’m Bellamy. Octavia’s brother.” he said, giving Lexa what she assumed was his practiced smile and he ran his free hand through his hair.

Lexa glanced at Octavia who rolled her eyes at her brothers actions in a sort-of apology to Lexa. Seeing he wasn’t getting the typical response from Lexa he usually got from most of the girls in Polis, he turned his attention to her brother.

“You are the running back.” Bellamy said, lifting his arm to rest it over Octavia’s shoulders.

“You are the quarterback.” Lincoln stated, both of the boys in a stare-down until Lincoln’s attention moved toward Octavia who was visibly uncomfortable with her brothers attitude.

After a moment of Octavia glaring up at her brother, she groaned with displeasure, leaning forward and crawling out from under her brothers arm. “Bel, give it a rest. He’s just got here and I’m being a friend. You know, the thing that doesn’t involve sticking out your chest in a macho-off.”

“A, what?” Bellamy asked innocently.

“C’mon Linc.” Octavia suggested, handing her slice of pizza to Bellamy while shooting him a look so intense that he audibly swallowed. She made a display of taking Lincolns hand and leading him away. “Let’s go downstairs.”

Lexa stood there in the kitchen following Lincoln and Octavia with her eyes, not sure what to do.

“Sorry about that.” Bellamy said, handing the slice of pizza off to someone walking by who happily accepted the offering of food. He turned back to Lexa and the smile she saw earlier was back on his face “So you are from Arkadia?”

“Yeah.” Lexa answered blandly. Even if she wanted to like his handsome face, his square shoulders and sparkle that he had in his eyes when he smiled, his interaction with Lincoln made for a very unpleasant introduction so she turned her shoulders and started to motion she was leaving. “I think I’m going to go join them downstairs.”

“That sounds good. I’ll join you.”

Lexa frowned and wondered when she made the offer. As they made their way to the stairs to go down to the basement, everyone gave him high-fives or greeted him with a wave. Because she was the new girl, she followed behind him as they both made their way into the basement to join Octavia and the others.

Lexa’s jaw dropped so far she could have tripped on it and tumbled down the stairs. ‘Is everyone that lives in this place rich?’ Lexa wondered, taking in what could only be considered a rec center back in her old neighborhood.

Lexa had the image of an older pool table where you put coins in the side and wait for all the balls to roll to the end so you could rack them. Green felt that had some stains from whatever drink or food that got spilled on it and a single incandescent light bulb hanging from the ceiling by an extension cord to illuminate the scratched plastic paneling. Perhaps a beaten up dart board with blue and red plastic darts that never fully stuck in no matter how hard you threw them. Maybe an old, heavy projection television was donated because someone got a little extra after rent and were able to buy one of those really cool thin ones that weighed almost nothing.

This was something entirely different. She froze on the second last step and took in the room before her and the bodies that casually moved around it as if it was something normal. Lexa felt completely out of place here. Even when her eyes found Lincoln, she could tell he was in awe of the room that was probably as big as their last house and filled with the latest and greatest things you could buy.

“Lexa, come on over. You know how to play pool?” called Raven after seeing Lexa stand on the stairs for far too long.

“Does she know how to play pool? I went almost a year without an allowance because of pool.” Lincoln said with a laugh.

He missed his shot and almost immediately after Octavia could be heard telling him he was really close on sinking the shot. Lexa also couldn’t help but notice she was as close to him as she could be without actually touching him.

“Here Lex, give it a shot.” he stood up from the table and walked over to Lexa, handing her his pool cue. He leaned in and whispered “Can you believe this place?” but he had already seen the answer to his question in her eyes. She couldn’t either.

“I’ll show her how to play.” Bellamy grinned. “I’ll take it easy on ya.”

A switch went off in Lexa and a small smirk appeared then vanished on her face. “I don’t know. I bet you play a lot.”

“How about we make a little bet?” Bellamy said with enough volume that everyone in the room could have heard, drawing their attention to the newcomer who appeared to look like a deer caught in headlights.

Anya leaned into Raven and whispered, “Oh, this is gonna be good.”


	7. Introductions Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy is being his overprotective self but his ego lands him in unfamiliar territory as Lexa and Lincoln put one over on him. Clarke makes her first appearance and the new arrivals are welcomed with open arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the kind comments. I am glad the story is being well received and I will do what I can to not disappoint. :) 
> 
> Next update won't be for a few days due to work but I'll try to get it up asap. I have to finish up some work on a chapter of another story and then I'll get a couple more of this one done. 
> 
> See everyone soon!

By now, all the eyes in the games room were on Lexa, waiting for her to accept or refuse Bellamy’s challenge. The opportunity had been set by Lincoln playing a rather simple shot in full view of Bellamy. _‘Of course she could beat him. He sucks!_ ’ Bellamy reasoned.

“What kind of a bet?” Lexa asked, walking forward toward the table, glancing around the room then back at Bellamy.

A boy with goggles on his head busily ran around the table retrieving the balls from pockets then set himself the task of setting up a new rack for the two.

“When I win, you have to go on a date with me.” He grinned.

Lexa looked at Octavia who had her face in her hands and was simply shaking her head. “And if I win?”

Bellamy scoffed but shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want?”

Lexa reached up and proceeded to tie her hair back in a pony tail with a tie she had around her wrist. After a moment of decision making, she had the perfect idea.

“Octavia and Lincoln go on a date next weekend.”

It was no secret that the only reason Octavia hadn’t dated the guy at the mall was because of Bellamy’s overprotective ways. That and his threat to stay away from his sister. Lexa got the reaction from him she was hoping for when his eyebrows pulled together and the glint in his eye went from flirty to unhappy.

“Oh god, right for the throat. You were right, this is going to be good!” Raven whispered back to Anya while watching the scene play out before them.

Bellamy turned to look at his sister and her proximity to Lincoln and his eyes went from unhappy to angry. He was stuck. He knew he couldn’t refuse her wager in front of everyone, especially after challenging her in the first place. In an instant he shook off his look of anger and replaced it with the calm, cool Bellamy everyone knew with a cocky smile.

“Deal. I’ll even let you pick the place. You want break?”

“No. Go ahead.” Lexa answered, walking over to the table and waiting for Bellamy to start the game with a loud crack of cue ball hitting then scattering the neatly arranged balls around the table.

Game on.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was over before Bellamy knew what happened. He broke and sunk a ball, sunk a second and joyfully bragged about how she would have fun. He didn’t expect to see Lexa take the chalk from the edge of the table, give it a couple twists on the tip of her cue and then proceed to clear the table without missing a shot. It was one of the very infrequent times when in public, Bellamy was speechless.

Lexa - One.

Bellamy’s pride was wounded which lead him protest claiming that it was a warm-up game so Lexa offered a best-of-seven. An offer Bellamy quickly accepted. The next game had much similar results and everyone in the room started to joke about how one-sided the games they were playing turned out to be.

Lexa - Two and Three.

“Fine, you win.” Bellamy grunted, dropping his cue on the table immediately after Lexa dropped her last ball and winning the fourth game. Not as many eyes were on the pair playing because it wasn’t a competition. Lexa thoroughly handed him defeat and now he was admitting it. “I didn’t expect you to be so good.”

Lexa was a little surprised at his ability to take the shellacking she gave him. She had him pegged as someone who would be a sore loser and after his admission she felt a little, but only a little upset with herself that she went so hard at him. This was a lot more civil than most of the confrontations she had back in Arkadia.

“Great job, sis.” Lincoln high-fived his sister and their grins matched.

“Old habits.” Lexa and winked with her reply.

Octavia was positively beaming at the result of the game, although she didn’t appreciate her brother’s insistence he had the right to say if she could go on a date or not with Lincoln. Lincoln gave a nervous laugh because the look he was given by Bellamy had all the warning of a protective brother in it. She took the liberty of leaning into Lincoln and effectively claiming him before everyone present and in the process got her fair share of glares from some of the girls in the room who had been appraising Lincoln for their own purposes.

Bellamy wandered away from the table and started talking to Murphy who had begun to tease him about the whipping he just received and after he was done, suggested they go to a 'real party'. An offer Bellamy was glad to accept.

“Hey, O. Don’t be out too late.” He reminded her while throwing another look at Lincoln.

“Octavia is in good hands, Bellamy. We’ll all make sure she gets home safe.” Anya stated, waving Bellamy away. “Thanks for coming and see you on Monday at school.”

Lexa watched Bellamy head upstairs and gave him a small wave then proceeded to set her cue down on the table for someone else to play. In that moment, she heard a new voice addressing her from behind. This one had an Australian accent.

“He is going to see you as a challenge now. You know that, right?”

Lexa turned and she met the stranger’s curious eyes with matching ones of her own.

‘ _So blue.’_ Lexa thought. Had she been able to read Clarke’s mind, she would have heard her think the a similar thing about her green eyes.

Upon closer inspection, Lexa noticed her blonde hair was a good length past her shoulders and a small portion of it was tied back in a small ponytail. She revealed a smile on her face as she lowered her drink, then looked past Lexa to Raven and Anya, but not before taking a second look at the dark hair, green eyes of the newcomer.

“Hi guys. Sorry it took so long to get here. Family stuff.” With her greeting to her friends out of the way, Clarke turned back to Lexa and smiled. “You must be Lexa. I’m Clarke.:

“Yeah. I moved in next door. I’m sorry about your friend.” Lexa internally scolded herself for bringing up the subject, especially after seeing the smile fall from Clarke’s face. ‘Way to go, Lexa’.

Clarke shrugged with indifference, but she could see it bothered her.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Clarke said, raising her hand and letting it rest on Lexa’s arm to let her know it was alright. Lexa couldn’t help but feel a small spark on her arm which caused her to glance down at the contact and the goosebumps that developed.

“I know, but I heard he was important to you. It sucks to lose a good friend.”

“Maybe we can become good friends too. C’mon. Let’s go sit with Raven and Anya on the couch.”Clarke pointed in the direction of her friends who were watching the interaction. When they got close, Lexa turned her head to face Clarke.

“You think he’ll pester me because of that?”

As they sat down, Raven laughed at the topic of conversation. “Didn’t Clarke tell you? Their parents are in agreement that they will wind up getting married one day. Anything that will take his focus off her, she’ll be happy with.”

“Guys. Bellamy is a great guy. He’s just a little over protective.” Clarke defended him.

“We know. We love him just like we love your grumpy butt.” Raven teased, leaning into her and wrapping her arm around Clarke, urging her to stand back up. “Let’s play some Mario Cart.”

Video games sounded great to Lexa. She was still a little nervous about how she handled the Bellamy situation moments ago and she wasn’t sure if what she did might have upset anyone. It was hard enough being the new girl.

There were a group of boys sitting on the floor in front of a large television playing the game but when they saw Clarke approach, they all groaned. “That’s right, Monty. Same choice as always, play me and lose so we get the game or just hand over those controllers now.” She laughed and accepted their controllers once the current race was over.

“What was that about?” Lexa asked they all took their seats. Anya sat in one chair and nestled herself in front of the chair so she could lean against her legs. Clarke took the other chair and as she sat on the floor in front of Clarke, she made sure to maintain a safe distance of a couple feet.

“There are two true loves in Clarke’s life, Art and Mario Cart.” Anya explained. “Both are an obsession for her but if she ever loses at Mario Cart, which might happen once a year, we get to meet grumpy Clarke.”

”Whatever, Rae.” Clarke rolled her eyes and smiled as she shook her head. “Lex, it isn’t that bad.”

Lexa could feel a breath catch and a tightening in her chest hearing the way her name rolled from from the blonde girl’s lips.

“Oh god, you’ve scared her. Good job, Clarke.” Raven laughed as they chose their characters.

“I didn’t scare her. You guys telling her I’m overly competitive about he game isn’t helping. You are forgetting you two play as a team.” Clarke turned her attention back to Lexa. “Maybe Lex and I will team up and show you two how it’s done. What do you say?”

“Sure.” Short. Concise.

Lexa turned her eyes from the trio and focused on the screen in time to see the race start it’s countdown.

As Lexa dominated Bellamy earlier, she found out that Clarke was just as ruthless in Mario Cart. They all fell into a routine of chaos, abandoning alliances and making new ones all in an attempt to stop Clarke from winning. Clarke’s laughter filled the basement as she won amid their conspiratorial game play over and over again.

“Don’t let it get to you Lexa. She’s a Mario Cart freak of nature. After a beating like that, you are now officially one of us.” Raven sighed, handing off her controller to the next group who were eagerly waiting for their turn. “C’mon Anya. Lets see if anyone broke anything upstairs. Don’t let Clarke get you into trouble, Lexa.”

“I’ll take good care of her. Don’t worry!” Clarke called out as they vanished up the stairs. They may have all taken a beating in the game but Lexa was still smiling at how it appeared she had been officially accepted into the group. When she looked at Clarke, she found the blonde glancing around the basement that had filled up with teenagers as they played their games. “Want to go somewhere a little quieter? It’s way too packed down here.”

“Ok.”

Clarke reached down and grabbed Lexa’s hand in her own and led her from the basement, up the stairs and into the back yard where she ran over to two chairs that were open. The sun had started to go down and the lights were starting to add a nice ambiance to the yard.

Once they were sitting, Clarke leaned back in her chair and looked over toward Lexa.

“So, what’s your story?”

“I.. uh.. what would you like to know?” Lexa asked nervously and she tried everything in her power to understand what it was about Clarke that set her on edge. She was never this unsure about herself before coming to Polis.

“We could do the usual, where are you from, what do you like, what do you do for fun type stuff. I’ll start. As you can guess, Australia. Perth specifically. Folks moved here about four years ago and dragged me along with them.”

“I guess we both have that in common. Well, not Australia, but Arkadia for me.” Clarke nodded and took another sip of her drink.

“You been asked if you like Polis yet?”

“Only by everyone I’ve met. You are the first person who hasn’t.”

“Part of being an original.” Clarke winked and shot Lexa a smile who returned one of her own. After a brief silence of observing everyone in the yard, Clarke pointed at Octavia and Lincoln.

“That is going to infuriate Bellamy more than your beating him at pool. I know he’s your brother and you have to say good things about him but I’ve known Octavia a while now so I have to ask, He’s a good bloke?”

Lexa watched the two who were deep in conversation with each other. Octavia was talking and using her hands while she talked, sharing her personality with Lincoln who sat there and was smiling at her stories, every once in a while she’d lean into him and bump him with her shoulder.

“Yeah. He’s big and it intimidates a lot of people but he’s a teddy bear.” Lexa smiled at the pair who were busy in their own bubble.

“Your brother seems like a nice guy.” Clarke said. “You don’t look much like him. Although, Some of your mannerisms are the same.”

Lexa turned back to look at Clarke. “How so?”

“You two talk a lot with your eyes. It was the first thing I noticed downstairs.”

“Our eyes?”

“Eyes are the windows into the soul, they say.”

“Do they?

“Mhmm.”

Lexa smiled and she wasn’t quite sure how long they sat there staring at each other without saying a word, but it was Clarke that broke the silence between the pair by clearing her throat. It disappeared as quickly as it showed, but Lexa thought she saw a shade of red appear on Clarke’s cheeks just a moment before she started talking.

“So, um, you play a good game of pool, you have talkative eyes and you are from Arkadia. What else should I know about you before we take this any further?”

“Uh, further? What…” Lexa stammered.

“If you are living in the house of my best friend, I’m going to need to know more about you before we become best friends. What are your deep, dark secrets, Lex?”

Lexa couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh.

As they sat in their chairs and traded stories about Arkadia and Perth, their hobbies and other small talk topics, the sky had become dark enough that many of the kids had now moved out into the yard to make space for the living room, allowing it to transform into a make-shift dance floor. Music was filling the yard and Clarke jumped up from her seat. Lexa watched as she walked directly in front of her and extended both her hands out for Lexa to hoist her up.

“Let’s go dance.”

“Oh no. I don’t dance.” Lexa shook her head which lead to a laugh escaping Clarke’s body.

“Oh yes you do, you just don’t know it yet.” Clarke insisted by leaning in and grabbing Lexa’s hands from the arm rests of the chair. She yanked her to her feet, though not with any difficulty because Lexa decided to give in and stand up. Clarke’s blue eyes to brighten in concert with a smile and Lexa found herself following Clarke into the house.

_‘What am I doing?’_

In moments, they joined the flock of kids who were either jumping around, or throwing their arms in the air while singing the songs that played through the sound system. Hair was flipped from side to side with the rhythm of the music. Lexa on the other hand, was moving as stiff as a board.

“C’mon Lex!” Clarke shouted over the loud music. “Dance!”

“But I never…”

“Of course you can. Here. Just…” Clarke stopped and grabbed a hold of Lexa, one hand on her arm which she raised in the air and the other on her hip which led Lexa’s breath to catch for the second time tonight.

“Now just close your eyes and let the music in!” Clarke laughed, twirling herself in front of Lexa, her blue eyes full and a smile that told her she could do it.

That was the last image Lexa had before she closed her eyes and did as she was told. The music wrapped itself around her and she let her body sway to the music that was sometimes fast and sometimes slow. When she opened her eyes, all her new friends were around her and Lexa couldn’t keep the smile from her face.

The group spent the rest of the night laughing and dancing away until they were completely exhausted. When it hit midnight, Raven started to turn down the music to a chorus of groans by people who wanted to keep dancing.

“Sorry everyone but we have to shut this down before someone calls the cops!” she shouted so everyone can hear her. “Now you all know the rules. If you see a red cup or an empty can, throw it in a bag on your way out the door as you leave.”

Raven and Anya both had a handful of plastic bags which they divided up and then shoved in the hands of Clarke, Lexa, Lincoln and Octavia. Lexa looked at the bag and then at Raven.

“The empties aren’t going to climb in a bag by themselves. You and Clarke get the basement, Lincoln and Octavia can get the main floor while Anya and I get the door.” Anya explained.

“Got it.” Lexa hustled over to the stairs into the basement to help clean up the mess left behind by roughly seventy-five unsupervised kids over a span of six hours. A mess that took them nearly an hour to clean up and straighten out the furniture.

“We’re glad you could make it Lexa, Lincoln. Thanks for your help cleaning up too.” Raven said as everyone walked through the front door so they could go home. Each of them were quite worn out from the night’s dancing.

“No problem. Thanks for inviting us.” Lexa answered for both of them as Lincoln seemed wrapped up in walking Octavia to her car.

“It was really night to meet you, Lexa. I’ll see you at school on Monday?” Clarke stepped forward and pulled Lexa into a hug that she reciprocated.

“See you then.” she smiled, tucking her hands in her pockets once Clarke stepped away slowly.

“Great party, guys. See you later.” Clarke said to Raven and Anya as she turned to walk to her car.

Raven and Anya retreated back into the house for the night while as Lexa started back to her place by crossing Raven’s front yard. Lexa opened her front door and stepped inside, taking one last glance back in Clarke’s direction. Had she waited just a moment more before closing the door, she would have seen Clarke look back in her direction.


	8. First Day of School - Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group begins their first day at Polis High and as much as Lexa wished to stay under the radar in her classes, things don't always work out the way she hopes. Raven's notorious celebrity catches up with her in class and Clarke meets someone new who has just moved to Polis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a little to get this going due to life, but here is the first of a two-part, First Day at School! Next one won't take as long(because I'm writing it after posting a chapter of my other story). I just wanted to get something up for everyone to read and this felt like a good time to break the chapter in two parts.
> 
> Enjoy and I'll see you soon!.

“We aren’t going to be late, Lex. Calm down.” Lincoln sighed, turning the key and starting the Jeep in their driveway after engaging his seat belt and motioning for Lexa to do the same, refusing to budge until he heard a click.

“This morning Raven told me that they fill up fast because the there aren’t enough spots for everyone who wants to drive and that spot you park in on the first day is the one you have designated to you by the office.”

Lincoln and slipped the Jeep from reverse, spilling it in first gear to start them on their journey to school. “How many people in this school has a car?” Lincoln asked, a bit surprised.

“It wouldn’t surprise me. We don’t live in the inner city any more. That and everyone around here seems to have a lot of money.”

“Then we better get used to it. We’re those kids now. Well, at least Mom and Dad have money.”

“We got lucky with them, didn’t we?”

“Yep.” came Lincoln’s simple reply, reaching down and turning on the radio. “Find something. I still don’t know the good stations here.”

After playing with the radio, Lexa found a station playing Top 40 and let herself fall back into her seat to fight off the nervous excitement that had been building since she woke up this morning.

 _‘A new school, new people and new teachers.’_ Lexa thought to herself as she stared outside the window. _‘At least we know some nice people.’_

After a few minutes, they pulled into a parking lot of Polis High and cars were everywhere. Both Lincoln and Lexa were hawkish in their search for a spot the Jeep would fit in because it was larger than most of the small cars in the lot.

Lexa caught sight of Raven standing in an empty spot yelling at drivers who tried to park in the space she occupied, refusing to allow any of them to pull in. When their eyes met, Raven frantically waved for them to drive over to her.

“Linc, over there. Raven saved us a spot.”

“Sweet! Hey, is Octavia’s car over there?”

“Linc, I love ya, but you gotta stop. And yes, it’s over there.” Lexa chuckled. She’d never seen her brother so hooked up on a girl, and she could see a little nervousness start to show. “Hey. Just relax. Good news is, It looks like we have managed to get some spots near the athletic field.”

“That will be really great. We won’t have to walk so far after practices.”

“Mhmm.” Lexa hummed, reaching down and turning down the radio as they approached their spot.

“About time you got here.” Raven shouted as they pulled into the parking space. “I had to fight off half the students in the school who will probably hate me for making them park way over on the other side of the lot.”

Lexa stepped out of the car and Raven stepped forward to give her a hug and began to explain that they scouted these parking spots as soon as they all knew they were going to Polis High. Bellamy explained they were usually reserved for the seniors but because the graduating class last year had all left, if they could get there early enough they could snap them up.

“Thanks for saving us the spot.” Lincoln said, throwing his backpack over his shoulder.  
“I’d like to take the credit, but it was Bellamy’s idea to show up late last night and park our cars to make sure we got our spots.” Raven pointed to the group sitting at the picnic tables behind the chain-link fence.

“Lincoln!” Octavia shouted, hopping over the four-foot high fence and running up to the trio. “C’mon. I saved you a seat. I’ll introduce you to everyone.” She tugged him in the direction of the fence and rather than hopping back over, she asked him to lift her over it. She spun around, raising her arms straight out to the side.

Lincoln gave a glance to Bellamy who appeared to be nonchalant about it but the fact his eyes were on the two of them gave him a feeling of unease. Lincoln picked her up carefully and swung her over the fence so she could sit back in her seat and he hopped over immediately after, trying to ignore Bellamy’s disapproving frown.

“Bel, give it a rest.”

Clarke’s voice rose over the ruckus of the conversations happening at the table and the laughter brought on by jokes being told. He took Clarke’s advice, dropping his glare which led to Lexa giving Clarke a smile in gratitude.

“I hope you weren’t waiting for us very long.” Lexa said, climbing over he fence with Raven, even though there was a gate not more than ten feet away.

“A couple hours.” Raven shrugged, sitting down and instinctively searching for Anya’s hand. “I came here after our run this morning.”

“You have been here that long? You didn’t have to, I mean, we could have parked farther away.”

“We’ve all been holding it for you, so don’t worry. We took turns.” Anya added. “Now, what’s your schedule like? We’re going to get us a table at lunch and we need to know if anyone has break before it to get us the best table.”

Lexa glanced over to Lincoln who already was lost in conversation about his schedule with Octavia. It seemed their schedules were similar because they were already talking about study sessions for their various classes. Lexa reached into her bag and pulled out a large binder, coded with coloured tabs and a laminated copy of her class schedule.

“Laminated? Woods, I think I’m in love.” Raven laughed. “Babe, can we keep her?”

Anya sighed through her smile, leaning in and lowering her voice conspiratorially enough so that one the three could hear. “With what happened to the last one? Oh no. Not again. Besides, I think she’s got her sights set on someone else.”

Lexa’s cheeks lightly reddened and it was everything within her power not to turn her head and look in the direction she instinctively wanted to.

“Stop teasing her!” Raven poked Anya’s side producing a squeak from the girl.

“Fine, fine. Anyway, new girl. Schedule!” Anya ordered, holding out her hand and accepting Lexa’s offering which both Anya and Raven studied.

“Great! I’m going to lose my girlfriend to the new girl.” Anya groaned, letting the schedule fall to the table and burying her face in her hands. Raven only pulled her in tightly and cooed, burying her face in Anya’s neck.

Lexa’s reaction was one of amusement at the overly dramatic pair. She was quickly discovering that they were becoming a couple of her favourite people and that thought only made her smile broaden.

“Let me see.” came the familiar voice that rebuffed Bellamy’s disapproving glare. Clarke stood up from the other table after hearing Anya’s wail of defeat, slid in next to Lexa which seemed to cause all the air around the vicinity of the brunette to vanish. Clarke picked up her schedule and let her eyes roam the page.

“You got into every AP class they offered?” Clarke asked, astonishment on her face.

“I, um, yeah.”

“So you must be like, a genius.” Clarke turned to her and seemed to be appraising. Lexa felt like she wanted to shrink away in that moment because she never liked to be the focus of peoples attention.

“No. I’m not. Not really.”

“This says otherwise. Raven didn’t get into AP English so at least we will have that to hold over our resident genius.” Clarke grinned, glancing over in Raven’s direction. “Well, our _former_ resident genius.”

“It’s OK. As long as Anya still loves me, I’ll be fine.” Raven defiantly declared.

“Always, hun.” Anya leaned in and kissed Raven on the cheek.

“Looks like I’ll be the one to save us all the table at lunch.” Clarke stated, handing Lexa back her class schedule. “I’ve got a spare just before lunch so I’ll meet you all there.”

“Clarke’s going to get the table for us at lunch!” Raven shouted so everyone could hear.

The sound of the bell rang and everyone seated at their newly claimed spot began to stuff their bags full of binders, pencil cases and other miscellaneous items to begin their lives as official high school students.

“C’mon. English is our first class.” Clarke said, reaching out and linking her arm in Lexa’s. “I think it’s this way.“

“Sure.” Lexa responded, scolding herself for being so nervous and blaming it on being her first day at a new school.

Clarke and Lexa pushed their way through the packed hallway as Clarke scanned the numbers above the doors. Lexa was staring around at all the students doing the same thing while bumping into each other. Clarke turned back and noticed Lexa’s attention was on the walls which had numerous lockers running up and down the length of the hall.

“We get assigned lockers in our first class. If we don’t get them close to each other, we’ll find someone to trade with.” Clarke explained. “Ah, here we are. B-202.”

They both walked through the door and in the back corner, Clarke could see Murphy sitting between two other desks. He didn’t wave to Clarke or Lexa because that wouldn’t be ‘him’, but the two desks on either side of him had his jacket and his backpack on the top.

“About time you made it.” he commented.

Lexa had a chance to take in appearance of the lanky boy. Just like she’d seen him in the basement, he had a black t-shirt on with some band she didn’t know of. His hair was tossed back and he had his trademark grin, right up until Clarke dropped her bag on the desk he was sitting in.

“What’s the deal, blondie?”

“Window or seat to the right.” Clarke offered to the boy who as he stood up, sighed and reached over to the desk farthest from the window to grabbed his Jacket.

“Fine. Window it is.” he sighed, throwing his black leather jacket over the back of the seat.

“Thanks Murph.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s a good thing I like you Princess.” he said, taking his hand and flipping his hair back that had fallen forward as he moved to his new seat.

“Which do you want?” Clarke asked, turning to Lexa.

After a moment of looking at the two, she shrugged and put her backpack on the seat farthest from the window which meant Clarke got to sit in the one between her and John.

“Please take your seats.” Called out the voice from the front of the room. “I’m Mr. Kane and I will be your instructor for AP One English this term. Right now there is a course syllabus is being passed around. I would like you to take one and continue passing them along.”

Lexa took two pages from the stack of paper and handed the remainder over to Clarke who looked at her curiously removing one from the stack for herself. Lexa got this feeling someone was staring at her so she turned and looked at Clarke and her wondering blue eyes.

“Two?” Clarke asked, lip curled up in a little smile. “I didn’t know you were a rule breaker. This changes everything I thought about you.”

“You think about…” Lexa swallowed her words. “I keep one for my binder and one at home.”

Clarke turned to look at Mr. Kane who was walking around the room passing out a booklet he was explaining MLA would be the roper formatting they were to be using for citation in their reports.

“I have a feeling that you are going to be a bad influence on me, Woods.” Clarke grinned, tucking  
some of her hair behind her ear and taking a second page from the pile and slipping it in her binder.

As much as she tried to fight it, Lexa could feel a small flush begin to show in her face so she turned her focus back on the syllabus in her hands.

“I thought I was supposed to be the bad influence.” Murphy said, inserting himself into their conversation and reaching over to grab the stack that Clarke hadn’t passed to him.

“Don’t worry, you’re always going to be  _the_  bad influence. She’s just  _a_ bad influence until I know any better.”

“As long as we’re clear about my role in this relationship.” John clarified.

Clarke laughed aloud, drawing the attention of the class and Mr. Marcus, who did not seem the least bit pleased about her outburst.

“Miss…?”

Clarke tucked her head down in embarrassment, trying to appear as small as she could but it was far too late.

“Clarke Griffin, sir.”

“Well Miss Griffin, could you please enlighten the class about what you find so amusing?”

“I… well…”

Clarke glanced down at the paper in her hands looking for an excuse and was coming up empty. ‘Great. In trouble on the first day.’ she scolded.

“Sir, we were discussing the book list for the term and I told her that there were similarities between The Old Man and the Sea and Harry Potter. She doesn’t believe they are.”

“Please, continue.” Mr. Kane turned to give Lexa his full attention, crossing his arms over his chest. She certainly picked up the hint of amusement in his voice.

Lexa swallowed hard and looked over at Clarke, but there was no life-line in Clarke’s eyes. She couldn’t help but feel like Mr. Kane was taking on the role of a Marlin in this game.

“I… well, friendship, sir. Similarities of can be found in the friendships of both texts.”

“An example?” He asked.

“The friendship in The Old man in the Sea between the characters Manolin and Santiago shows emotional support as Santiago's friend and when he supports Manolin who was an outcast that…”

“Very nice, Miss…” Mr. Kane interrupted, a suspicious but knowing look on his face.

“Woods. Alexandra Woods, Sir.”

“I look forward to hearing your group presentation on this subject with Miss Griffin. It is clear you both have strong opinions on a theme in those two works to interrupt me on your very first day.”

“Yes, sir.” Lexa said.

“In the future, I expect you to share your insight during properly designated class time.”

“Yes, sir.” Both Clarke and Lexa stated.

“Oh. My. God. I am so sorry!” Clarke whispered to Lexa who chanced a glance to her left.

“S’ok” Lexa whispered back but she kept her eyes facing forward and on Mr. Kane’s position in the class and whether or not he was paying them extra attention. Not even fifteen minutes into class and she’d been subject to reprimand. It certainly wasn’t the first impression she wanted to make.

He’d assigned them their lockers a few minutes before the class bell rang and all the students packed their backs and hustled to leave their current class to start their journey to the next.

“Lex.”

Lexa felt Clarke’s hand softly press on her arm as they walked out of the room and stopping her a few feet from the door to stand away from the doorway and allowing kids to move in and out freely from the class.

“My next class it Art so I’ll see you at lunch. You have chemistry with Raven on the first floor lab so good luck if you end up being her partner.” Clarke had a look of concern on her face that worried Lexa.

“Good luck?”

“Be sure to ask her what happened for her finals experiment last year. I’m surprised they are letting her back in a chemistry lab.”

“What happened in her last lab to her partner?”

“I’ll see you later. Just, be careful.”

“Clarke. What did she do?”

“Lexa!” shouted Raven who was quickly moving down the hall in their direction. Clarke stepped forward and gave Lexa a hug.

“Thanks for the save in there.” Clarke said. “Even if it means you got stuck with me as your partner for the presentation.”

“I was going to ask you anyway.” Lexa said quietly.

After letting go, Clarke turned and headed off to her next class. Reminding her to meet in the cafeteria. A second later, Raven was standing by her side and threw her arm over her shoulder and started leading them toward their next class.

“All set for chem, partner?”

Raven went on about how her previous class was a waste of time in that the teacher gave them a tour of the school resources like the library, computer lab and gymnasium instead of letting them get right to work on cars.

“You are in auto shop?” Lexa asked, a bit surprised.

“Usually it’s a study block but there is no class this week. I wanted to do an oil change on my car.” Raven explained as they walked toward a lab table near a window and sat down next to each other and across from two other empty stools. “Give me your backpack.”

Lexa picked her backpack up off the floor and handed it to Raven, who then proceeded to slide it across the table in order to try and claim two seats on the other side.

“We are waiting for some people?” Lexa asked.

When two boys tried to sit down, they had smirks on their faces while sizing up both Raven and Lexa.

“Those are full.” Raven explained to the new arrivals and sharing a knowing glance toward Lexa who was also frowning at the not-so-hidden motivation in the boy’s choice of seating.

“C’mon. Nobody is sitting here.” One of the boys said, sitting down directly across from Raven after pulling out the stool.

“Look.” Raven said, sighing out the word. “You don’t know me but if you are from around here, I know you’ve heard about Trikru academy.”

Lexa took note of the boy who hadn’t yet sat down seemed startled by Raven’s statement, sliding his bag back up over his shoulder and taking a step back and pointed at a couple open seats on the other side of the class.

“C’mon, let’s go sit over there.”

Raven had a victorious smirk on her face, watching the boys walk away and stated, “Good choice.”

Lexa contemplated the sudden change in the boy’s choice and while trying to decipher what just happened, she recalled Clarke’s words.

“I’m surprised they are letting her back in a chemistry lab.”

“Raven, What happened at Trikru Academy?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t even really my fault.”

“What wasn’t your fault, Raven?”

“Monty! Harper! Over here.” Raven shouted to the pair who walked into the class.

“Raven…”

“It wasn’t a big deal. I was doing my final project with a few chemicals to make fire-less smoke. My partner begged me to let him add in the hydrochloric acid and I may have added more than I should have of the sodium bicarbonate and ammonia solution.”

Lexa’s eyes widened at Raven’s confession, but the smile on her face was evidence enough for Raven to know she understood fully what happened next.

“The exhaust hood would have worked if the glass door was closed, but he put it all in at once before I could stop him. They had to shut down the school for a day to make sure everything was safe, and only a few kids had to go to the hospital.”

“Hey guys.” Monty and Harper took their seats across from them.

“Hi, I’m Harper. You must be Alexandra?” The blonde smiled and extended her hand across the table.

“Lexa.” she smiled back and shook the offered hand.

“All set for class? Raven hasn’t shut up about it since she heard they were going to let her in the class.” Monty directed his question at Lexa.

Raven ignored the comment, busying herself with taking her binder from her backpack.

“She was just telling me about Trikru Academy.” Lexa explained.

“Then you heard about her last partner?” Harper asked. “Good luck.”

Lexa laughed along with Monty and Harper, looking at Raven who seemed undisturbed by their teasing.

“It’s ok. I’ll have her pour any ammonia if the situation ever presents itself.”

The group laughed until the voice of their teacher interrupted the conversations at each of the lab tables and starting the class just like the previous. Lexa only hoped it would go a lot smoother than the last.

“Welcome to AP Chemistry. I’m Mrs. Weir and my hope is to show you how fun and exciting chemistry can be when we go beyond just reading about it in textbooks and getting into exploring through experimentation.”

Mrs. Weir pulled a stack of papers from a folder and began handing them out to the class, explaining their purpose as she passed them out.

“This is the class syllabus, an index card and a waiver. On the index card, please put the name of each person sitting at your table on it. They will be your lab partners for the term.”

The group at Lexa’s table smiled knowing that just sitting together would likely make the class more enjoyable than it would be with students they didn’t know.

“The waiver is a new addition to the curriculum and required by the school board due to an incident that occurred at another school last year.” their instructor stated as she placed Raven’s waiver down in front of her, letting her hand linger on it for a moment before she released it.

Raven flushed with embarrassment and was now uncharacteristically quiet.

“Please have them back for next class because we will be getting right into it. You will also have to read chapter one in the textbook you can get from me at the end of class on your way to lunch.”

“Thanks Rae…” Monty teased in a hushed voice when the teacher was far enough away.

“Oh, shut up.” Raven mumbled.

“Why don’t we start with introductions. I see there is a table already interested starting us off.” Mrs. Weir said, her attention directed toward the table of Monty, Harper, Raven and Lexa.

‘ _Here we go again._ ’ Lexa thought to herself, hiding her face in her hands.

~*~*~*~*~

Clarke walked through the door of her next class and studied what to her was the most important aspect of an art room. Large windows facing south. She hurried over to the class assuming she would be the first one there but there was already one student sitting at a small desk which was next to an easel who had been watching her since she walked in the class.

“Hi.” he said, leaning back in his chair.

Her first impression of him was that he is easy-going. One of his sneakers were on the edge of his desk and he was wearing black jeans along with weathered denim blue jacket. She was certain he had a smile that likely got him everything he had ever asked for in life but to reinforce it, life decided to throw in his perfect just-past-the-shoulder brown hair with complimenting grey-blue eyes. Clarke felt a flutter in her chest that she wasn't expecting and it caught her by surprise.

“Hi.” Clarke said with a tone a lot less confident than it usually is.

“I did the same thing when I walked in.” he said. “Here.”

When he got up, he shouldered his messenger bag and slid into the adjacent desk.

“I couldn’t. You chose it first and I got here after.” Clarke said, standing still in front of the class.

‘ _Why am I not taking the seat?_ ’ Clarke questioned her inability to jump at the easel she decided was the best position to the light that would filter through the windows. She couldn't understand why she was refusing it.

“Well, I’m going to sit here.” he proclaimed, using his hand to brush back the hair that fell in front of his face. “If you don’t sit there, someone else is going to take it and I’m not sure how I feel about sitting next to someone who stole your spot.”

As if by fate, a student walked in the classroom and it forced Clarke to make a decision quickly, though it wasn’t really much of a decision. She let her feet guide forward and threw her bag on the desk. After she sat down, she turned to face the boy.

“Hi. I’m Clarke.”

“Finn.” he smiled, flashing her the smile "It’s nice to meet you, Clarke.”

Clarke diverted her eyes and turned away, mimicking his motion of running her hand through her hair to reveal her smile. “You too.”

The class filled with the exact number of students to fill the desks and the woman they all assumed was their instructor shut the door to the class to block out the raucous noise from the hallway. Clarke was relieved when it closed fully, not a single sound broke through to disturb the silence in the room. Another important facet Clarke believed was conducive to her being able create.

Clarke tried to be as subtle as she could when glancing to her left and the only real opportunity she had to speak to Finn was when they were passing out permission forms to go on a number of field trips to museums and galleries.

“My friends are all meeting for lunch in the cafeteria. Do you want to come?”

“Thanks. I’ll be there. I don’t really know anyone here in Polis yet, so thanks for the invite.”

“There are a couple new friends joining us there so no problem there.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you there.”

The rest of the class, the instructor spoke about her vision of the class, lowering the blinds on the large windows and loading a video that showed art in different mediums through the centuries with the hope that it captivated their imaginations and left them itching to put pencil to paper and paint to canvas, pencil to paper and hands to clay.

Before they knew it, the bell was ringing to signal that class was over. Clarke took the opportunity to turn back to Finn who at that moment was putting the small pile of papers their instructor had given them into a folder and stuffing them in his bag.

“Don’t forget. Lunch in the cafeteria.” Clarke reminded him.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

"I'll see you there!" she added. She scolded herself for not playing it cool, thinking it would have been good to leave well enough alone. 

Clarke watched him walk out of the classroom and realized that she was in fact, staring. She shook her head, wondering what it was that seemed to lift her spirits so much, but not hard enough to remove the smile from her face. After she collecting her things, she started to make her way toward the doorway.

“Clarke?”

“Yes Mrs. Cartwig?”

“I heard good things about you from one of my colleagues back at Trikru Academy.”

Clarke wasn’t sure what to say so she just stood there wondering if her last art teacher and her new one were friends.

“I am aware you have a spare before lunch this term so if you want to come in and work on one of your projects in that time, you are more than welcome to. Just let me know so I can leave the door open for you.”

Clarke smiled with the knowledge that she could possibly have an hour of uninterrupted time in the classroom to do her work. She intended on asking Mrs. Cartwig about finding extra time to come to the classroom but with that problem solved, Clarke was really looking forward to the upcoming school term.

“That’d be great!” Clarke let her excitement reach her words. “Can I start tomorrow?”

Mrs. Cartwig couldn’t help but smile and share in the enthusiasm displayed by one of her students but she had to temper it slightly.

“This week we won’t be working on the projects but you if you’d like to, you can bring your thoughts of what you would like to do and we can get you organized for them.”

“Oh. Well, that would be great too. There is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I hope it work for a project.”

“Remember one of the projects is free-choice. You have the term to complete it and although it is to consolidate the lessons from the entire term, I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Thanks Mrs. Cartwig. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodbye, Clarke.”

Clarke stepped out into the nearly empty hall and found herself more excited than she expected to be about the new school year. Art was always the class she looked forward to more than all the others but now she had even more reasons to enjoy it. She felt like she was floating as she walked through the halls toward the cafeteria, forgetting that she was supposed to be the one to go to the library and book a study room before heading to the cafeteria. She found the table in the spot described to her by Bellamy and took a seat, pulled her sketch book out of her bag and flipped it open, landing on the sketches she had drawn the other night after Raven's party. Something in her caused a moment of frustration and she frowned, tapping her pencil on the page but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. They were good sketches, or so she thought. The distraction lasted a moment and she flipped to a blank page, frantically scratching her sharpened pencil against the paper to reproduce the memory of medium-length brown hair, grey/blue eyes, and a smile that somehow made her stomach twist itself into knots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarke! What are you doing?!
> 
> I know. Clarke and Lexa seemed to be doing great at the party and this is a huge change, but my excuse is that they are young(15 and 16 years old) and prone to acting on their emotions without thinking things through!
> 
> Ok, fine. Let me have it. :(


	9. First Day of School - Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group all meet for lunch and Clarke's new friend is introduced. Clarke winds up becoming protective of her new friend which draws a reaction from Lexa.
> 
> *This is a slowburn. For details please read the comments regarding Clarke's new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 is not a long one but I wanted to get something up because it's been a week!
> 
> A WEEK! I know, it's been a while but here it is. I'll have more frequent updates coming for future chapters. This one isn't too long but I hope it's enjoyed and another update will be posted on the 5th or the 6th. :)

Tables were lined up in long rows, permitting the maximum number of the student body of Polis High to to sit in the cafeteria and share stories of their day while enjoying their lunch. Laughter was heard often from the groups of students who were either complaining about the demands of their teachers or reliving their summer memories.

“...and that’s why we now have to get parental releases for chem class.”

Having all arrived to their table and sitting on the benches, Clarke and friends were in high spirits as Harper detailed their introduction to AP Chemistry with Mrs. Weir and the teasing that came along with it that was directed toward Raven.

“Anyone heard when team sign-up’s are?” Anya asked, deflecting the conversation from her embarrassed girlfriend.

“Football sign-up is already up outside the coaches room.” Lincoln said, looking over at Bellamy who nodded in agreement. When he filled out his name and took the required waiver from the folder on the table, he noticed Bellamy’s name was the first on the list.

“Soccer team sign-up goes up tomorrow outside the coaches room. I guess the coach hasn’t been announced yet, but I heard she’s a real hard ass.” Octavia explained. “We are all playing this year?”

Raven, Lexa and Octavia all agreed but when Harper didn’t add her confirmation, the group looked at her with surprise.

“I wish I could. I just don’t know if I can handle it with my class load. If I do any extra curricular stuff I might have to quit my job.”

“You’re our best keeper! You have to play!” Raven declared, slapping her hand down on the table.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t know how I can make it work.”

“Well, sign up and we can figure it out. We’ll make sure to help keep you up on all your classes. Clarke’s booked a room in the library for the term so you won’t fall behind.”

Everyone saw Clarke’s eyes widened at the realization she was supposed to book the room during her free period but instead came straight to the cafeteria.

“You did book it, didn’t you?”

Clarke’s eyes lowered and she shook her head slowly. “I’ll do it during lunch” she said, putting her food back in her lunch bag and putting it in her backpack.

“That’s alright, I’ll do it after lunch.” Lexa volunteered, putting her hand on Clarke’s to get her to stop putting away her things. “I have a study class and I’m going to the library. Besides, the librarian that books it is at lunch until one o’clock.”

Clarke mouthed the words “Thank you” to Lexa who in return offered her a small smile.

Lexa noticed her linger a moment longer than she intended, causing her heart rate to speed up. Lexa yanked her hand back and focused her attention to her lunch and quietly took a couple small bites of her sandwich and scolding herself for panicking.

Thankfully, Clarke didn’t make a big deal about it but when she turned from Lexa, she saw Finn walk in through the large double doors, making his way down the small flight of stairs while scanning the faces in the room. Clarke’s face brightened up and she waved at him to let him know to come over. Lexa observed the approaching figure, and wondered if he was another friend of Clarke’s she hadn’t met yet.

“Everyone, this is Finn. He’s in my art class.” Clarke explained, sliding over to her left and creating a space between her and Lexa so he could sit down. Lexa couldn’t help but take a larger bite of her sandwich.

“Hi.” he said, greeting the strangers before him, everyone introducing themselves around the table and finishing with a Lexa grunting her name.

“Nice to meet you all.” he said.

“Why don’t we all go outside to the picnic tables?” Monty suggested to the group who all happily agreed. It was a nice day and they all agreed the fresh air would be nicer than a cafeteria that was still full of other students.

As they approached the tables, Murphy was reaching into his car and turning on the stereo to play some music. They all took a seat at the tables or were sitting on the fence between the parking lot and the tables.

“So, Finn. Where are you from?” Anya asked as she selected a seat in between Lexa and Raven, across from Clarke and Finn. If he’d been asked, he would have guessed the questioning eyes from the trio were part of an interrogation.

“I’m from Seattle. Moved here with my dad a couple days ago.”

“Clarke says she met you in art class?” Raven asked.

“Mhmm.”

“You draw?”

“Not really. Mostly sculptures, but it doesn’t hurt to understand art in other forms. I hope it will help open up some creativity and let me see things from another perspective.”

“Are you signing up for any teams this term?” Bellamy asked, his chin up and his eyes appraising the newcomer.

“Afraid not. I was never a big sports guy, as much as my dad wishes I was. I guess I took after my mother in that regard.” Finn shrugged. “I’ll probably wind up spending most nights working when I find a job.”

“Why’d you end up move here?” Murphy asked.

Lexa sat across from him and studied his nonchalant appearance. There was something about him that didn’t sit well with her and the longer she sat there, the more it resembled an itch that no matter how many times she scratched it, it wouldn’t stop.

“Guys! He just got here.” Clarke laughed, placing her hand on his shoulder to shield him from further inquisition. “What’s with the interrogation?”

“Just making sure he’s not a serial killer.” Octavia explained. “You’ll thank us if bodies start showing up and we didn’t do our part in keeping the community safe.”

“God, you guys.” Clarke rolled her eyes, laughing again and pulling fin into her side protectively. “Leave him be. He has been nothing but nice to me.”

They all agreed, laughing that Finn seemed alright by them. Even Lexa grudgingly smiled, trying to bury whatever it was that lingered in the back of her mind. Finn seemed like a good guy and he was friendly so if everyone liked him, why shouldn’t she?

 _‘He seems nice enough._ ’ Lexa thought, trying to convince herself. She then retrieved her cellphone from her pocket in order to distract herself from any further invasive thoughts. So much so, she is surprised when Anya taps her on the shoulder and leans in to her slightly.

“Hey. Everything OK?” she asked quietly, and Lexa couldn’t understand the reason for the concern in her voice.

“Yeah. Everything is good.” Lexa answered as her eyes detached from her smart phone and toward Anya, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. “Why?”

“Time for us to get back to class and you…” Anya jokingly poked her lightly in the shoulder. “…get to go book the group room for us in the library.”

Lexa looked up and around to see that everyone had already packed all their things away and were heading toward the school. She then realized she hadn’t heard the school bell which caused her to shoot up from her seat and pack her things, hiding her embarrassment by not looking up. When she realized Anya has stood up but hadn’t moved away, Lexa offered a defence.

“Yeah, I know. I was just…” She held up her phone and waved it.

Anya smiled and pulled her into a hug, drawing an even more confused look from Lexa who was looking past her to Raven, who stood off to the side waiting for her girlfriend.

“I get it, and I know you don’t know a lot of people here but Raven and I are here for you. If you are nervous about being new or anything, just give one of us a call. Ok?”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

“Good.” Anya smiled. “Now I have to go or I’m going to get in trouble for being late on my first day. Enjoy your spare, Lexa.”

“You too. I mean, you to class.” Lexa managed to ramble.

Anya smiled and turned to walk in Raven’s direction but Lexa’s voice stopped her forward progress and she turned back to face Lexa.

“Anya?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Any time. What are friends for?” She said, waving and turning back to head toward Raven.

Lexa was unsure of what just happened but she did feel a smile grow on her face as she watched Anya walk up to Raven and be greeted by a hug big enough to lift the girl off her feet. The shriek in happiness she let out which was followed by an unburdened laugh that could make anyone’s mood lift.

As she shouldered her bag and headed in to brown-bricked building that was Polis High, she found herself thinking that how fortunate in have meeting two such incredible people in Anya and Raven so quickly after moving to Polis. She’d never met anyone who had ever made her feel so welcome as they did.


	10. The End of Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the students have made it home after their first day of classes at Polis High and Lexa has a tough time on her first day. Indra has been keeping some news to herself and Clarke divulges her feelings for Finn to Raven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the end of the first school day for Clarke, Lexa and friends! 
> 
> Thanks to everyone for commenting and for subscribing and I will see you all again in a few days. :)

Lexa played with the food on her plate, shifting it from side to side with her fork and occasionally picking up a piece and sticking it in her mouth to complete the illusion for everyone that everything was fine. Unfortunately, nothing felt fine. She wasn't sure why there was a nagging feeling that followed her around through the day and she didn't want to answer questions about it. Not when she didn't even really know what was going on. She had to figure it out how the morning started so well and then went quickly downhill afterward. It was becoming frustrating to run through her daily checklist in her head and realizing she'd done everything she planned to, yet the feeling something was off felt like a weight on her shoulders.

“How was your first day? Anything interesting happen?” Gustus asked, looking across the dinner table at Lincoln and Lexa who had been unusually quiet after their first day of school. Especially after their nervous excitement they displayed in the morning as they left.

“Good.” they both answered at the same time. Lexa deferred to Lincoln and let him explain his day by deciding to spear a piece of broccoli with her fork and then pop it in her mouth.

“My teachers seem nice, but the work load in this school is a lot more than I was expecting. It’s going to be tough to keep up with my workouts, football and school but I’ll figure it out.”

“Lexa? How are you? Your classes are going to work out?” Indra asked, noticing her daughter was not acting as her usual self. “You know you don’t have to keep such a full schedule. If it ever starts to get to be too much we can talk to the school and work something out.”

“It’s fine. I booked a study room in the library for after school so when I don’t have practice, I’ll be in there working with everyone. It was just a long day.”

“Are you still planning on getting a job?” Gustus asked, and like Indra was concerned things might start to pile up on her.

“Yeah. I need to buy the rest of the parts for my girl.” Lexa smiled wistfully as she looked in the direction of the garage. “Some tires and the open belt drive with 7 plate clutch kit, maybe some new shocks and we will be road ready.” She couldn’t help but imagine the wind blowing through her hair as she tore down the highway, trees flying by and the sun being the only thing able to keep pace with her.

“Let us know if you need a hand.” Indra reminded her, pulling her from her fantasy. “I don’t want you to lose focus on your classes because you are working too much and avoiding your responsibilities.”

“I can handle it. The AP class loads are tough but a lot of it is reading and writing essays. I’ll be fine.” Lexa said confidently, adding a smile that dissapeared as quickly as it appeared.

“How about the school teams? Signed up yet?” Gustus directed his question at them both.

“Nope.” Lexa said. “Octavia said the sign up for soccer is supposed to be tomorrow. There is a new coach or something this year. Supposed to be a real hard-ass.”

“Lexa.” Indra scolded her use of language.

“Sorry, her words not mine.” Lexa chuckled and shrugged as she avoided Indra’s disapproving eyes.

“I signed up for the football team.” Lincoln explained, taking the focus off Lexa. “Bellamy was telling me at lunch there is a lot of new players this year because another school doesn’t have enough to field their own so they get to try out for ours. The competition will be tough.”

They continued talking about their days for the remainder of the dinner. After Lincoln and Lexa cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, a marvel they didn’t have in their old home, they asked to be excused explaining they had to get started on their reading for class.

“Don’t forget to take breaks.” Indra called out to them as they heading toward the stairs, disappearing to their rooms for the night.

Gustus emerged from the kitchen, holding out a beer to Indra who took the amber bottle in hand and took a small sip. She couldn’t help but focus on Gustus’ grin, offering him an innocent look in defence.

“What? I didn’t do anything.”

“I think that is exactly the point.” he said, sipping from his own bottle then lowering it. “You didn’t tell her you were going to be the Panther’s new head coach?”

“I thought it would be a good surprise. I didn’t want her to think she had an automatic spot on the team because I’m there. Besides, I’m one of three who will be selecting the Kru.”

“Kru?” he asked.

“It’s what the players call themselves after they make the squad.”

“I see.”

Gustus and Indra walked outside through the kitchen, taking a seat on the wooden bench that looked out over the pool in the yard.

"Lexa looks like she had a rough first day." Gustus said, looking upstairs at Lexa's room and noticing her window was closed.

"We should keep an eye on it. Hopefully it was because it was her first day and they both have had a lot of changes happen in the last few months." Indra suggested. "We both know Lexa doesn't handle big changes very well."

"I'm sure once she gets her footing here and makes changes to her routine that work for her, she will find her stride. Her friends seem really nice and although Lexa is tight lipped about it, Lincoln was telling me that their new friends look out for each other like they are family."

"I'm glad. It was what worried me about taking her from Arkadia."

Both Indra and Gustus enjoyed the silence of the early evening and after a short while, Gustus turned to his wife with an amused look on his face.

"What?" she asked.

“There is one thing I wonder.”

“What’s that?”

“How did you not laugh when she called you a hard-ass?”

~*~

Lexa got into her room and she walked over to her small study area and dropped down in her chair. She stared out the window and after hearing Indra let out a solid laugh from the patio below, she lost herself in the clouds that seemed to endlessly float by, hiding the blue of the sky above it from time to time. Every time a cloud rolled over the blue sky she stared at, she didn't notice a small frown appear on her face.

She wasn’t sure what put her in such a mood but she was determined not to let it get anyone else down. After her conversation with Anya today, she was determined to do a better job at trying to control whatever was bugging her by trying to figure it out what was bothering her. Unfortunately, all she could attribute it to was missing Arkadia and her old friends because Polis was a pretty great place. Much better than Arkadia, that was for certain.

When Lexa next looked at her phone, it was 7:30pm and she scolded herself for losing herself in a daydream as she stared through her window. Whatever it was, she decided she could work through it later and use her remaining time tonight by taking out her AP chem textbook and her notebook. Once both books were open and her pen was ready, she declared she was officially starting her high school journey.

_‘Chapter One: The Atom’_

~*~*~*~*~*~

Clarke was laying on her stomach on top of her bed, flipping through some uninspiring pages of a text books from class. Her mind constantly wandered from the task she and Raven set themselves to when they walked upstairs into Clarke’s room. She let her eyes wander to Raven who sat at the desk, devouring the information from the text and scribbling notes as she went and feeling a pang of jealousy about how she seemed to stay so focused.

Raven had shown up at Clarke’s just before dinner because sitting at home all alone was her least favourite activity, and she knew Clarke was in a similar situation with both their parents being so involved in their careers. Sometimes Anya would join them in a study session that would devolve into gossip and Netflix, but tonight Anya was busy teaching her evening classes.

Not surprisingly, Raven started to fidget and Clarke glanced at the clock on her wall.

~ **7:41pm** ~

From tapping her pencil on the desk or chewing on the plastic cap over the eraser, Clarke gave her no more than five minutes before she called for them to take a break from studying. It was something Clarke and Anya realized almost a year ago when they all studied together and it occurred without fail, much to their private amusement. She watched Raven drop her pencil on the desk and lean back, wiping her tired eyes with her hands signaling her defeat.

~ **7:48pm** ~

 _‘Two minutes longer? Interesting.’_ she thought, making note to send Anya a text informing her of her findings while wondering what caused a change.

“So, Finn?” Raven said as she turned and faced Clarke.

_‘Oh.’_

“What about him?” Clarke asked, her voice betraying the indifference she was trying hard to display.

“You were pretty protective of him today.”

“Nothing I wouldn’t do for any friend who was getting the 3rd degree.”

“Mhmm?” Raven spied her through squinting eyes.

“What?” Clarke asked defensively.

Raven rose from her chair and slowly walked over toward Clarke on the bed, studying her friend who looked away in an attempt to avoid sharing more than she wanted to.

“A new guy shows up, is undeniably attractive, is in your art class and you invite him to come sit with all your friends. Friends who ask him questions to figure out who he is and you suddenly get protective of him.”

“And you are going where with this?” Clarke knew, but any reason to avoid talking about it was fine by her.

“I want you to say it.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and flipped over on to her back, giving her a view of the white ceiling above her bed.

“C’mon Clark-ie.” Raven took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Say it.”

The blonde groaned, grabbing a pillow and covering her face. “No.”

Raven smirked, then reached down and poked Clarke in the side, initiating Clarke’s defenses.

“Don’t.” Came the muffled voice beneath the pillow.

“I don’t want to have to, Clarke you and I both know I’ll do what I have to.”

Raven’s voice with thick with seriousness.

“Raven. No.” the warning voice mumbled from beneath the pillow once more.

“You brought this on yourself, Clarke.”

Raven lunged forward, her fingers digging into her friend’s sides and drawing shrieks and a fit of laughter from her friend who had decided the best way to get her friend to stop was by bringing the pillow across the side of Raven’s head. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and no matter how many times she mercilessly swung her pillow, Clarke declared her surrender through tears and cheeks too sore from laughter.

Raven couldn’t help but lift her chin in victory. “Now then.”

Clarke was still recovering from her fit of laughter and wiping the water from her eyes but she nodded her understanding.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, what?”

“He’s cute.”

“You could have opened with that and saved yourself a lot of trouble, blondie.” Raven laughed. “So?”

“I like him.”

“Well, duh!” Raven shoved Clarke’s shoulder lightly. “On a scale of ‘I want to hang out with him’ to ‘I wonder if he’s got a 6-pack I can lick?’, what are we talking about here?”

Clarke considered Raven’s ridiculous analogy carefully but she she looked down and smiled confirming what Raven already knew.

“You really do like him.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what to do, Rae!” Clarke declared. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone before!”

“Well, not freaking out about it is a good start.”

“You don’t get it.” Clarke groaned. “Look!”

She leaned over and took a hold of her backpack, reaching in and retrieving her sketchbook. After flipping through the pages and when she got to what she wanted, she handed the book over to Raven to see the numerous drawings of Finn from different angles.

“Woah.”

“That was how I spent my afternoon. I didn’t pay any attention in class.”

“You’ve got it bad.”

“Yeah. Thanks Rae but I think I already know that. What I don’t know is what to do!”

“What do you want to happen?”

“I don’t know. I want to get to know him better.”

“So invite him to study group? You have his number?”

Clarke looked at her phone and her eyes widened with worry.

“I didn’t get his number! What if he thinks because I didn’t ask for his number that I don’t like him?”

“Woah, woah. Easy there, Clarke.” Raven put the sketch book on the bed next to her and grabbed Clarke’s shoulders to steady her. “Did you give him your number?”

Clarke thought back on the day and realized she hadn’t.

“No.”

“Then he didn’t get your number either so maybe he’s at home thinking the same thing you are.”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I just really like him, Rae.”

“That much I knew before I decided to tickle the truth out of you. I knew earlier today.”

“What?! Does everyone know?”

“Only those of us with eyes. Well, maybe not Lincoln and Octavia because they are so wrapped up in each other I doubt they’d notice if the world caught fire.”

“Oh my god.” Clarke declared in horror, lifting her hands to hide her face.

“What I think what clinched it was when you put your hand on his shoulder and didn’t take it off until you had to separate to go to your afternoon classes. That and the sad, puppy-dog eyes you had when he walked away.”

“I didn’t have sad, puppy-dog eyes.” Clarke groaned at the possibility that she did indeed, have sad puppy-dog eyes and that everyone had borne witness to it.

“I’m afraid you did.”

Clarke fell over on her side and reclaimed the pillow she’d hidden herself with earlier and attempted to do it once more.

“You aren’t helping, Rae. He’s going to think I’m clingy!”

“I don’t think so. He was pretty chill about everything, especially for someone so new to town. You did a nice thing in inviting him to meet everyone.”

Clarke removed the pillow from her face and looked up at Raven to see her sincerity.

“You think everyone will like him?”

“Probably. We don't really know him yet but don’t think you have to worry about that.”

“No?” Optimism worked it’s way back into Clarke’s voice.

“Nope. At least that’s what I believe. Trust me, I’m a pretty good judge of character. After all, we are friends, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Clarke grudgingly agreed, a smile growing on her face. Clarke trusted Raven’s judgement and hearing her speak kindly of Finn meant a lot to her.

“He has really nice hair.” Raven said. “That’s what Anya said when we walked to class in the afternoon.”

“She did?” Clarke’s smile made it all the way up to her eyes.

“Yep.”

“Is there anything you like about him?”

“There is.” Raven said.

“What is it?”

Raven lifted her hand up to Clarke’s lips and pointed at them.

“When you think of him, he makes you smile like this.”

Clarke felt the blood rush to her cheeks which caused her to lunged forward, squeezing Raven in a hug. “Thanks, Rae.” She said, quietly.

“Always.”

When they separated Raven stood up from the bed and stretched, letting out a groan as they both looked at the clock on the wall.

~ **8:05pm** ~

“Netflix?” Clarke suggested.

“Sure. It’ll have to be something short, though. I have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Picking up Anya before school?”

Raven shook her head.

“Lexa and I are going to start running together. I swear, that girl is a robot. She gets up earlier than I do in the morning and somehow always looks like she does. I need to step it up.”

Clarke never understood why anyone would be willing to part from a nice, comfortable bed so early in the morning. She felt like is she could live in hers for the rest of her life, she’d be content. She fought against the instinct to tease Raven about being a robot herself and decided to focus on Lexa and how she seemed to separate herself from the group earlier at lunch. The realization she'd ignored Lexa at lunch didn't sit well with her because she was in the same situation as Finn was regarding being so new to Polis and not really knowing anyone.

“How is Lexa doing? She got really quiet today.”

After a slight pause to consider an answer, Raven felt a pang of guilt when she shrugged.

“I think she’s having a hard time trying to settle in. Polis is a big change for both she and Lincoln if what Octavia was saying is true.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Ask her about it when you get the chance.”

“I will.”

“So what are we going to watch?” Clarke asked, grabbing the television remote from on top of her night stand then moving to stand by the bean bag chairs at the foot of of her bed that gave what Clarke explained was the "best view" of the television on the wall. 

“How about I figure that out while you go get some bottles of water from the fridge.” Anya declared, snatching the remote from Clarke's hand.

“Fine. But nothing too serious!” Clarke called out as she disappeared into the hallway outside her bedroom. 

“On it.” Raven hollered, powering on her television and dropping herself on the bed.

"What the... Oh." Raven said, realizing that she dropped down on the art book she'd placed on the bed after Clarke showed her the page full of Finn's likeness.

She put down the remote to pick up the sketch book, studying the detail that Clarke's drawings and being amazed at the talent on the page. Her curiosity got the better of her and she flipped back to the start of the pad where she saw sketches of familiar places like the mall, or Clarke's bedroom. Some of them were completed drawings and others were either works in progress or no longer holding her attention and abandoned. As she continued, familiar faces appeared which brought a smile to Raven's face. Wells was the most prominent but when she flipped to the next page, her mouth opened slightly to match her widening eyes. She took in the numerous detailed sketches of her games room that contained the familiar face of Lexa. Clarke had drawn her in different poses that detailed the night of Raven's pre-high school party.

There were pictures of a cartoon-like Lexa playing pool with Clarke watching from the corner and wearing a smirk. There was another with Lexa standing over Bellamy holding a pool cue in the air victoriously. The third had Lexa looking fierce as she wields her controller like a weapon, determined as she tried in vain to dethrone Clarke from her Mario Cart dominance. The sight of these pictures would have been enough to bring a smile to Raven't face, but the one she found herself dwelling on was the one with the pair of Clarke and Lexa sitting in her back yard.

Unlike the others, this wasn't a cartoon. The scene depicted them sitting on the ground of Raven's yard, looking up at the sky above with the stars on full display with Clarke's hand extended upward as if she were explaining something to Lexa who was looking at her as she listened. It wasn't a large sketch but the effort in the details of this was nearly life-like. So life-like Raven felt an urge to run her hand over the drawing to make sure it wasn't.

Shuffling of feet up the stairs brought Raven's attention back to the moment and she frantically closed the sketch pad as if she'd nearly been caught trying to steal the Mona Lisa. She put the sketch book down, grabbed the remote and quickly scrolled through the menus to find something to watch just as Clarke walked into the room, two bottles of water in hand.

"So what did you pick?" Clarke asked, looking at the television and observing Raven scrolling through genre selection screen.

"I don't know. I was thinking I should probably head home and get ready too crash. Running with Lexa tomorrow and I have to make sure I am not too tired I fall asleep in class."

Clarke appraised her friend curiously, but understood that she was concerned about getting up earlier to run with Lexa because she had mentioned it earlier.

"Alright. I will see you tomorrow?" Clarke asked.

"For sure!" Raven said, packing her books into her bag then giving Clarke a good-bye hug. "See you tomorrow."

Clarke couldn't help but feel a little confused but decided to shrug it off, assuming she was running off to meet Anya. She retrieved the remote from the desk where Raven dropped it, deciding to find something to watch before she called it a night as she let herself drop into one of her bean bag chairs.

~*~*~*~*~

Raven hustled into her car and smiled. It wasn't often she knew things like this before Anya, but she couldn't help but feel the excitement that enveloped her body. She sped to Anya's house and before she could get out of her car, she snatched her cellphone from the passenger seat and opened her chat app and tapped out the only thing she could think of. At Anya's house, her phone dinged on her desk and she smiled seeing the notification of a text from her girlfriend. As she opened the app, she laughed at Raven's message, sending her a reply.

~ Hun has sent you a message ~

Hun: OMG! OMG! OMG!

Babe: Everything alright?

Hun: I'm coming over.

Babe: It's pretty late and I just got home from classes. Don't you have to be up early tomorrow?

Hun: Can't wait. See you in a sec.

Anya heard her front door open and feet scrambling up the stairs, understanding that Raven had been outside when she sent those texts and she laughed. and thought whatever it was Raven had to say, she considered it big.

Raven hustled through the open door and fell dramatically on to Anya's bed, her hand clutching her chest and a smile larger than when she found out she was going to be allowed  back in a chem lab.

"And what news do you bring me so late in the evening, that couldn't be said by text, a phone call, or waiting until tomorrow? Anya questioned.

"Can't a girl just want to spend time with her girlfriend anymore without having to have a reason?"

"One can only dream..." Anya dramatically sighed as she walked over to her bed from her desk and planted am upside-down kiss on Raven's lips. "...but three OMG's means something big. Now spill."

Raven rolled over on to her side and looked up at Anya who had sat down across from her on the bed, waiting for her explanation.

"I know something about Clarke." Raven said as she grinned.

"That she likes Finn? We both know that."

Raven shook her head. "Something else."

Anya couldn't help but raise her eyebrows with curiosity. "Oh?"

"You know how Clarke likes to draw things when she can't stop thinking about them?"

"Yeah. I remember when she got obsessed with drawing you." Anya grumbled.

"Awww babe, you are cute when you are jealous. You know it's you and me 'til the end." Raven said, rolling across the bed and taking Anya's hand and peppering it with little kisses.

"So, what is Clarke's newest obsession? She draw a thousand pictures of Finn?"

"I think she might have a thing for our groups other newest addition."

"Octavia is going to be pissed if that is the case." Anya said, considering the ramifications of the two of their friends fighting over Lincoln.

"Ahn, no! The other one!" Raven gave her girlfriend an amused look. "You think I would be so excited about this if it were Lincoln?"

"Lexa?" Anya asked with slight amusement. "What about Finn?"

"I think I like Lexa more."

"Rae, You are going to start making me worried with talk like that." Anya warned.

"No! Not like that!" Raven gave Anya a shove. "I mean for Clarke. I like Lexa for Clarke more than I like Finn for Clarke."

Anya considered what Raven was talking about and she felt slight discomfort with what she knew Raven was suggesting.

"Rae." she said, her tone a renewed warning.

"When we were studying I had a look at her sketch book and she had a few drawings of Finn but there were pages of Lexa. More of her than anyone she's ever done. We have to get them get together!" Raven declared.

"Rae, we can't play with how people feel about someone else no matter how much you think they belong together. If they are meant to be together, they will find a way. If she really cares for Finn, she could get hurt."

Raven didn't foresee her girlfriend shutting down her fantasy of Clarke and Lexa and she entertained the idea that perhaps her intentions were misguided. Clarke did admit her feelings for Finn. Raven couldn't help but wonder if interfering in Clarke's chance at happiness with Finn could be crossing a boundary of their friendship. Anya could see the struggle her concerns had created in Raven and how it unintentionally deflated her reason for coming over tonight. She slid over beside Raven and wrapped her up in her arms.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Anya asked in a whisper as she tucked loose hair behind Raven's ear.

Raven nodded, trying to pull herself back from the fantasy that made her so excited not more than 20 minutes ago.

"Tomorrow we just see how things are going with them. Clarke, Lexa and Clarke, Finn."

Ravens couldn't help but light up an infectious smile but Anya shook her head and a warning finger. She knew Raven too well to not see the gears spinning in her mind. 

"But! We only watch them. We'll talk about it tomorrow evening when I come over and you cook dinner for us."

"Alright." Raven rolled her eyes in mock frustration which led to Anya pushing her out of her bed.

"Now go home and get ready for bed. You have to go running with your new bestie."

"I could always stay here, text her that I can't make it tomorrow." Raven suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Get!" Anya playfully shouted, throwing a pillow at Raven. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Fine! Fine!" Raven spun and walked toward the doorway. "Love ya, babe."

"Love you too!" Anya replied, blowing a kiss in her direction and watching Raven head home for the night. When she got up to get her pillow from the floor, she couldn't help but wonder what it was Raven was getting them into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Anya has warned Raven about meddling in other peoples affairs! Will she listen?


	11. Tryouts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is the first day of practice and everyone learns that their new head coach is none other than Lexa's mother, Indra. Unfortunately, not everyone approves of the mother-daughter tandem and tempers get the better of two players trying out for the squad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Update Day!
> 
> Sorry it wasn't up on the 8th as promised, I lost my job so the story wasn't the first thing on my mind in the evening and every time I looked at the screen, it was as blank as my mind. Here is the next one and I hope it is enjoyed. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The moment she stepped over the white line into the box, Lexa groaned and forced herself from the full sprint she was running to a slight jog, cursing herself for putting herself herself offside to settle Octavia’s pass. The sharp blast from Coach Woods’ whistle gave an indication of how unhappy she was.

“Everyone. Come over here and take a knee.”

The team formed a semi-circle and the Polis students lifted their hands to the teammates to their left and right, giving a nod of encouragement to the Tondc students who weren’t sure what to do, but followed along accordingly. A tradition that had been passed down from the teams from past years.

The team had been run ragged by Indra’s relentless spring drills to test their cardio. Every player trying to draw in as much air as they could, giving truth to the rumor that their new coach was going to make them work harder than they thought possible. She had zero patience for the players horsing around and many had been reprimanded through sprints when tryouts began. Things started to lock down when they realized Indra was true to reputation.

“This week will be the coaches opportunity to see your potential and decide positions you may play based on where we decide you may be best suited. I know everyone has come here with the intention of getting the position they have always played, but that will not be the case for some of you. We have a long way to go before we field a proper team to take to state and how serious you take the next four days will determine your if you have place on this team.”

“Yes, Coach.” The team shouted.

“What we’ve seen today shows us that every single player here has the ability to make this team and it is going to make our decisions very difficult. Keep up the hard work, girls. Hit the showers.”

Many of the girls were stretching out their soon-to-be-sore bodies on the side lines as they watched the boys head to the side-line benches in their practice gear for football, heeding the coaches instructions.

“Lexa, collect the balls, please.” Indra added, making Lexa wonder what she did to get called out in front of the team, or if her potential teammates would see it as something else.

As Lexa fought back a groan, she caught the rumblings of some of the other girls who were slowly making their to the locker room.

“I’ll give you a hand.” Called out the voice of a girl Lexa hadn’t had the opportunity to have met yet. There were a surprising number of girls out for the squad but like the boys football team, two schools were both competing for spots on the one Panther squad.

“Thanks. I’ll kick them over to you and you throw them into the bag?” Lexa asked, surprised to see someone volunteer to help.

“Sure.”

As they collected the balls, Octavia found herself leading the stretch on the sideline which had ballooned once some of the girls who had been heading to the locker room noticed and decided to join in. Many saw it as an opportunity to get to know each other a little better and chatted about the practice and how much more difficult things were going to be under their new coach and not surprisingly, her daughter.

“You know her daughter makes the team. We have to work our asses off for a chance on the Panthers with a bitch of a coach and she will just coast on to the team?”

“Chill, Ava.” Octavia warned. “Lexa worked as hard as any of us out there and Coach Woods seems like someone who doesn’t just let people coast on to her teams.”

“You are her friend. You have to say that.” The girl scoffed, and Octavia could see there was no win here.

“For someone who missed every single penalty she awarded in summer league, you sure talk a lot of shit about someone you don’t know.” Raven said, as she took a seat next to Octavia and scowling at Ava.

“Whatever.” Ava shrugged, trying to play off her embarrassment at Raven’s words, deciding to focus more on her stretches than those doing them. “You know it’s true.”

Lexa sprinted over to the last ball on the field and kicked the last ball over to the girl with the bag but not before dribbling the ball a little before kicking it over to the waiting girl who smirked each time.

“Thanks for helping.” Lexa said, jogging up to her and accepting one of the two bags holding the balls and hoisting it over her shoulder.

“Thanks for the show.” the girl commented. “I’m Katherine, but everyone calls me Kate.”

“Oh, sorry! I’m Lexa.” she said, extending her hand which was happily accepted by Kate. “Alexandra, but everyone calls me Lexa.”

“Nice to meet you, Lexa. You go to Polis?”

“Yeah. Moved here in the summer. I haven’t seen you in my classes, do you go here?”

“No. I go to Tondc High in the next town.”

“You have to come all the way here to play? Isn’t that going to be tough?” Lexa asked, opening the door to the equipment room so they could throw the bags in.

“Yeah, but it will be worth it if I can make the team. You were really good out there, Lexa. Probably the best player aside from that loud girl with the pony tail.”

“Thanks. That’s Raven. She was her teams leading scorer in summer league which probably explains why she looked so good out there. I think she’ll be the one to watch.”

From the parking lot, a bunch of girls were loading a yellow bus and calling Kate to hurry up so they could return Tondc for a chance to shower and return to their respective homes. She waved at them, shouting she would be right there. She turned back to Lexa and handed her the bag to put in the room and smiled.

“It was nice to meet you. I think you are wrong about Raven. I think you are the one I’m going to have to keep an eye on.”

Lexa laughed and watched Kate spin around and jog off in the direction of the bus. Lexa watched the girl join her friends climbing aboard the bus and when she turned to wave at Lexa, she found herself reciprocating. Right up until Octavia who had been leading the stretches on the sideline walked by her on her way to the locker room, signaling for Lexa to join her.

“Making friends with the enemy?”

Lexa’s attention turned to the loud, pony-tailed girl who was sporting a grin on her face. Lexa laughed at the possibility of a teammate being her enemy.

“She’s trying out for the same team, Raven. We’re not enemies.”

“I’m just teasing. She seemed nice. Quiet on the field, but nice. Not very aggressive.”

“We all can’t be Raven Reyes, now can we?” Lexa joked as they walked into the locker room to shower and get changed.

In the locker room, the hopefuls talked about the positions they’d had their eye on. It was a conversation Lexa wanted to avoid like the plague, being the coaches daughter. Being the daughter of the coach made her worried about how it might seem as though it were guaranteed and that effort anyone puts into the spot might be wasted. It wasn’t until they approached the parking lot the question she was trying to avoid was asked.

“You were pretty quiet in there. What position are you going for?” A girl asked, her eyes locked on Lexa. She couldn’t avoid the question now.

“I’m hoping for center-forward.”

The girl laughed and looked around to everyone that was in the vicinity.

“Hear that? Any of you girls who are trying for center-forward might as well pack it in.”

“Ava, I told you to knock it off.” Octavia warned again.

“What? She’s coaches daughter. You think she won’t get the spot? Give me a break.”

The shouting made it all the way to the tables where Clarke, Anya and Finn had been sitting while practice was happening.

“She won’t just give me a spot. I have to work for it like everyone else.”

“Whatever. Even if you get the spot, nobody will believe it’s because you worked harder for it than anyone else here.”

“What’s your problem?” Lexa asked, stepping forward into the girl’s personal space and matching the aggressive tone starting to enter the argument. “She didn’t even tell me she was going to be the team coach. I found out an hour ago like everyone else.”

“Ava, stop.” Octavia stepped forward between the two girls. “Lexa has to try out just like…”

With a shove, Ava pushed Octavia out of her way while glaring at Lexa.

“You aren’t stealing my spot on the team just because your mom is…”

Lexa cut the conversation short with a solid right hand to the Ava’s jaw. Everyone was shocked when she turned back and pulled her hand from her mouth showing a split lip. Lexa was anything but apologetic about it and ready to throw another if Ava wanted more.

Ava in retaliation lunged forward with punches of her own, tackling Lexa to the ground and leaving the team to try to unsuccessfully break up the flurry of punches and kicks. It was only when the stern voice of their coach rose over the shouts of the players that the fight slowed and then stopped, allowing Indra and two of the other coaches to yank the fighting participants apart.

“What is going on here?” Indra demanded.

Neither of the players would say, but their glares were more than enough to explain it was a dispute of some sort between the two. The coaches had an idea of what this was about but with the tight-lipped athletes standing there, Indra let out a frustrated sigh.

“If there are any more incidents like this between players trying out for this team, any at all, you will find yourselves watching Panther soccer from the bleachers for the remainder of your high school experience. Do I make myself clear?”

Lexa and Ava still glared at each other, but were wise enough to agree to the coaches terms. As did the remaining players trying out for the squad.

“Yes, ma’am.” they chanted in unison, breaking apart quickly and departing before coach Woods had an opportunity to revise her show of leniency.

Now everyone go home. You two.” Indra pointed at Ava and Lexa and waited for them to acknowledge her, “My office tomorrow at lunch. If you are not there tomorrow, don’t bother showing up after school.”

“Yes, coach.” They said, turning away from each other, Lexa heading toward Clarke and her new friend at the benches where she was intending on waiting for Lincoln so she could get a ride home. Indra watched her daughter head off toward the tables and stopped her forward progress immediately.

“Alexandra.”

Lexa turned around slowly, knowing what was coming when she heard that. This was her mother talking, not her coach.

“We will discuss this when we get home. I’m going to go gather my things and I will give you a ride.”

“But I am getting a ride with Lincoln after his practice and Clarke is waiting for everyone at the tables.” Lexa argued, pointing at the picnic tables and Clarke.

“Go wait by the car.” Indra stated, turning and heading in the direction of her office.

“Coach Woods, it wasn’t Lexa’s fault. She…” Octavia started, but she was cut off by Indra’s glare. All Octavia could do was offer Lexa an apology with her eyes saying she tried to help. It startled Octavia how quickly she went from Coach Woods to Lexa’s mom, then back to Coach Woods.

Lexa could hear someone running up behind her and she noticed Clarke had arrived, Finn close behind. By now, Raven and Harper had made if from the locker room and had heard about the excitement.

“Tell me you hit her with a real good one.” Raven requested, clenching her fist and swinging it in front of her body and causing Lexa to grin and nod her head but well aware she was going to have a black eye due to a blow from Ava.

“What was that about?” Clarke asked.

“Ava was being herself. She accused Lexa of being guaranteed a spot on the team because her mom is the coach rather than believe coach that anyone who works hard enough can get a spot on the team.”

“So you hit her?” Clarke asked in surprise.

“Only after she shoved Octavia for trying to stop us from getting into a fight.” Lexa said.

“So what happens now? You are still allowed to try out for the team, right? Are you going to get suspended?”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow?” Lexa got concerned at the mention of a suspension. She’d never gotten so much as a mark since she started going to public school.

“I’m sure everyone has your back. Ava is just mad because she is going for the same position as Lexa is and Lexa is a hundred times better.” Octavia explained, trying to pick up Lexa’s mood.

“Well, now I have to go home with my mom because she wants to talk about it. Coach and mom. This is going to be a fun year.” Lexa muttered sarcastically.

“Up for some company tonight?” Raven asked. “I can come over after dinner. Or for dinner and hang out. Your future winger has your back.”

“I don’t think tonight will be a good idea. I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

Raven nodded. “Dark and early. After today’s practice we might have to take it a little easier. Your mom is a great coach, but… ouch.”

“Wait until the team gets picked and she can really lay into everyone.” Lexa warned.

“Wait. Really?” Raven looked at Lexa with disbelief.

“She’ll expect nothing less than the best from the Panthers once the coaches choose who they want.”

The door to the coaches hall opened and Indra was moving quickly toward the parking lot. Lexa got a worried look on her face and bid her friends goodbye.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow. Can someone tell Lincoln I had to go early?”

“I will.” Octavia volunteered, stating she was going to watch the boys practice because Bellamy was her ride home and would be able to tell Lincoln afterward.

“Alexandra.” The tone was as much a warning as one to get her attention.

“Gotta go, guys. Tomorrow. Sorry!”

“It’s alright, Lex. Good luck. Text me later!” Clarke said, waving goodbye to her friend who was hurrying to catch up to her mother.

The ride home for Lexa was a torturous one. Indra hadn’t said a word which left Lexa’s imagination the time to run rampant with possible scenarios of how angry her mother was, or how disappointed she was. The worst case scenario was being barred from tryouts. She didn’t even want to consider that possibility but here she was, in the passenger seat and at the mercy of whatever Indra decided to come up with as punishment.

They pulled into the drive and still, Indra said nothing. She opened her car door, walked to the house with Lexa training behind her but she said nothing. When they walked through the door and Indra hung her car keys up, Lexa was nearly at her breaking point and she dropped her backpack on the floor by the stairs.

“Mom…”

“Not right now, Lexa.”

“But you don’t know what happened.” Lexa defended herself. “She said…”

“I do not care what she said, young lady. I saw something today I never care to see again. You have put me in a very difficult position. Now go upstairs and clean yourself up and I’ll call you down in a while. I’m going to discuss what I saw today with the other coaches and then with your father when he comes home tonight.”

Lexa groaned at her circumstance and tried to continue her protest but the look from Indra made her turn and grab her backpack from the floor. She grudgingly walked upstairs to her room and placed her backpack on top of her desk, then abandoning it to walk over to her washroom to clean up the cut in her own lip. She blinked a few times feeling the swelling around her eye and confirming that she would indeed have a black eye in the morning.

After she was done cleaning herself up and appraised the damage from her fight, she wandered over to her bed and laid down after grabbing her phone from her jeans pocket. It had had been buzzing since she got into the car to drive home but there was no way she was willing to take it out in front of Indra.

She tapped the power button and swiped the screen to open her chat app.

 **~** You have been added to the group Panther Kru **~**  
**~** 12 members **~**

Scrolling through the messages, a lot of messages, she got down toward the bottom and speculation had begun about her demise at the hands of her mother which made her smile. Indra may have been mad, but Lexa had never hear of Indra outright killing anyone.

 **Harper** : Think they will suspend them both? Indra was so mad.

 **Octavia** : They better not. If she can’t make tryouts, they might not let her on the team. We need her up front.

 **Raven** : Hell no! I think we could have a really great year. We are going to break a bunch of records this year on the way to state!

 **Octavia** : Maybe. If she isn’t playing, we would have to put up with Ava. Maybe an accidental tackle at practice?

 **Clarke** : Guys, c’mon. Lexa isn’t dead(I hope) and we’ll see her tomorrow. Maybe she got grounded from her phone?

 **Octavia** : Lincoln says his phone is dead but he’ll find out when he gets home if Lexa hasn’t joined the chat by then.

~ Lexa has joined the chat ~

 **Clarke** : See? I told you she wasn’t dead!

 **Octavia** : Lexa!

 **Raven** : Glad to see you are alive, Lexa!

 **Murphy** : Happy to hear you aren’t dead, Lexa.

 **Lexa** : Thanks, everyone. I find out later tonight after dinner if I’m not long for this world.

 **Clarke** : Lol! That bad?

 **Octavia** : Did you tell her Ava shoved you first?

 **Lexa** : I hit her and that was my fault. I don’t know what is going to happen with the school but I’m sure I’ll have to see the principal.

 **Raven** : Whatever happens, we’ve got your back.

The group conversed for about thirty minutes, everyone sharing their daily adventures with those they didn't share classes with and it wasn't long after when Lexa could hear Indra’s voice calling her name from downstairs. Lexa looked back at her phone and quickly typed in a message while yelling to Indra she was on her way.

 **Lexa** : I have to go. I’ll jump in later and let everyone know what is going on.

Lexa threw her phone down on her bed and rolled up off the mattress to head downstairs. When she walked around the corner and into the kitchen, she asked what Indra wanted.

“Can you peel those for me and get them in a pot of water?”

“Sure.” Was Lexa’s simple response.

She wasn’t sure if Indra wanted to talk about what happened today but it wasn’t until she’d peeled and cut the potatoes, filled a pot with water and placed it on the burner to boil that Indra made a sound aside from cutting vegetables on her cutting board.

“So why did you do it?”

Lexa recounted the incident and Indra just listened to what she had to say. She didn’t insert herself into the conversation until it appeared Lexa had completely finished explaining what happened.

“I will have to discuss this with the Mr. Greives in the morning. I don’t think you will get suspended, but I am going to recommend detention.”

“But mom…”

Indra closed her eyes and shook her head in warning.

“Your father and I will discuss our punishment for you this evening. As for the team, I’ve spoken to the other two coaches and for the remainder of the week both you and Ava will be in charge of equipment before and after practice, gathering towels from the locker room after practice, as well as leading the team in extra sprints because of your actions.”

“The whole team has to do sprints?” Lexa questioned. “The other girls didn’t do anything. Why do they have to do sprints?”

“Because you are a team. When situations like this arise, it will be handled as a team. The next time anyone considers lashing out at someone who could be or is their teammate, they will think before throwing a punch because their actions will have an impact on the team.”

Lexa sighed as she leaned back in her chair but grudgingly understood. “I know.”

“Now go get the ice pack out of the freezer and put it in a towel, then on your eye. You are going to have a souvenir of your actions and I hope it reminds you to think with your head before your hands.”

“I know, mom. I’m sorry.”

“I believe you are. Now, go lay down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's clear Indra won't tolerate those kinds of actions in the future!


	12. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is waiting for Lexa's arrival at school to learn of what the punishment was for her fight with Ava after practice and they discover that Lexa isn't safe from trouble yet with the possibility of a suspension hanging over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> Thanks for the wonderful comments on the story and I'm happy everyone seems to be enjoying it with the tweaks I've made(that or just being polite and not talking about them). 
> 
> I'm sorry I didn't get this up a few days ago. I thought I had but a trip to the hospital wound up buggering my writing/posting schedule for my stories. The next chapter will be posted after this tonight so a 2 for 1!
> 
> Enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments below!

“Woah” Clarke exhaled, covering her mouth with her hand as Lexa approached the picnic tables from the parking lot.

“Nice shiner, Woods” Murphy clapped. “Wait until you see Ava. Her lip is really bruised and still swollen.”

“Her split lip is an improvement if you ask me.” Octavia added. “That’s a good job on the make-up, Lexa.”

“Thanks. I had to get my mother to help me cover it up.” Lexa shrugged, annoyed that she had to sport a black eye for the next week - not that she totally regretted what she did.

Lexa and Lincoln sat down at the tables next to the parking lot with her friends, they all relived the afternoon before and how Lexa landed the first shot on Ava, then the tumble to the ground after she’d been tackled. As for Lexa, the only thing on her mind was whether or not she’d wind up getting suspended.

“Your brother told us what happened when he got home. This was all Ava’s fault! You shouldn’t have been grounded for defending me.” 

“I can’t believe you got grounded and can’t use your cellphone. That’s gotta be some kind of parental abuse.” Raven added. “Think they will let you use your laptop and jump online? We can all chat there.”

“I’ll ask tonight. They want me keep it downstairs until I’m not grounded anymore.”

“You still get to try out for the team though, right?” Raven asked. 

Lexa wasn’t there for her morning run and although they’d only run together a couple times, Raven had accepted the change to her routine and looked forward to their runs and she was worried when she didn’t show. Lincoln hadn’t said anything about Lexa’s grounding including her not being allowed morning runs when he used the group chat the night before.

“If I’m not suspended, yeah.”

“They might suspend you? No way. We aren’t going to let that happen!” Raven declared.

“Easy there! We don’t know anything yet. Let’s not call the banners until we know what’s going on.” Anya laughed, trying to get Raven to relax.

“When do you talk to principal Moss?” Clarke asked, changing the subject and taking a hold of Lexa’s hands so she could inspect the slightly bruised knuckles on Lexa’s hands. Lexa couldn’t help but notice how soft Clarke’s hands were, including her finger tips as they traced over her knuckles.

“I… right at first period. Then I have to go to the coaches room at lunch and find out what they have decided about even more punishment.”

“Think they might not let you try out? They can’t do that. Your mom is the coach.” Octavia argued.

Clarke let go of Lexa’s hand and studied the slightly swollen eye underneath some make-up. For a second, Lexa thought Clarke was going to raise her hand to her face but likely thought better of it because she didn’t want to smudge her work. Lexa couldn’t help buy take a breath of relief. Realizing Octavia was still talking to her, she focused on what she thought she heard.

“That’s why this isn’t her decision. She told me last night that the other coaches agreed to me doing things like cleaning the locker room and taking care of the equipment but If I’m suspended, it won’t matter what the coaches want me to do.”

“That’s bullshit. This is Ava’s fault.” Raven slapped her hand down on the table.

“Hun, no.” Anya covered Ravens hands atop the table with her own.

“But, Lexa is…”

“Hun. No.” she reaffirmed in a soft voice that led to Raven’s shoulders slump forward as if she’s watched her balloon slip through her fingers and float away into the blue sky.

“Fine.” Raven grumbled, putting away whatever machination she’d been thinking of regarding Ava on a shelf in her brain for another day.

The bell rang and the group all gathered their books and bags in order to start their now daily routine of class, lunch and class. They all parted ways and aimed themselves in directions that led them to their classes and Lexa walked alongside Clarke wearing a look as if she were about to go before a firing squad. Clarke stopped at the door and Lexa followed suit, looking into the class and wishing she didn’t have to continue to the office.

“Hey. You can’t get in much trouble. I mean, it is the first week of school. They don’t suspend students the first week of school.”

“I hope not.”

Clarke leaned forward and gave Lexa a hug and the brunette’s eyes widened at the unexpected hug. Her mind was wandering ahead of her to the principal’s office and in her surprise she didn’t been think to return the offering. 

“You’ll be fine. I bet you won’t miss all of English Lit.” Clarke tried to reassure her when she pulled back, but Lexa didn’t seem bolstered by her words. Not even the half-smile offered her usual confidence. “On the bright side, firing squads are illegal, aren’t they?”

Lexa chuckled at her joke but the thought crossed her mind that maybe they weren’t. She’d have too look into it.

“Miss Griffin. The class is taking place inside it’s designated room. Please do not make Miss Woods late for her appointment. I am certain that would not sit will with Mr. Moss.”

“Yes, sir.” Clarke said to the Mr. Kane then afterward turning and mouthing the words “good-luck” to Lexa who herself turned and quickly moved in the direction of the staircase that would lead her to the office and her punishment. 

Clarke heard Mr. Moss was a strict principal but she definitely didn’t want to share that information with Lexa who she was certain contemplated the notion that firing squads were a legal option. 

~*~*~*~*~

“You guys hear from Lexa? She didn’t make it to English.” Clarke asked the collective of students who decided that on sunny days, lunches would best be eaten at their picnic tables and away from the authoritative eyes of teachers.

“She didn’t make it to Chemistry.” Monty said as he reached over and took a french fry from the tray they’d managed to sneak out of the cafeteria so they could create a mountain of fries to eat from.

“You think she got suspended? I didn’t see Ava in gym class.” Lincoln added. “She can’t text us and let us know so I guess I’ll find out tonight.”

Finn pointed back toward the school and Lexa walking out of the building near the coaches offices, a steaming Ava behind her who cut left and stormed off in the direction of the cafeteria. “There she is.”

“Lexa! Over here!” Raven shouted, standing up and waving to catch her attention. 

Lexa waved at the table and walked somewhat slowly in their direction, her eyes on the ground until she got closer to her friends. Harper slid over making room for Lexa to have a seat.

“No bullet holes. That’s a good thing, right?” Clarke asked, drawing a few questioning looks from the collective of friends. 

“The next month is going to be hell, it might have been a better choice.” Lexa groaned and closed her eyes while pulling her lunch from her bag.

“What happened?” Octavia asked. She couldn’t help but feel apologetic about what was happening.

“I didn’t get suspended but on top of taking care of the equipment and cleaning the locker room after practices for tryouts, I get to spend my Sunday mornings in Tondc helping coach youth soccer teams.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Monty suggested.

“With Ava.” Lexa added, wishing they would have just led her out into the yard with a blindfold and one last cigarette. Even if she didn’t smoke, it seemed appropriate.

“I’m sorry you got in trouble for defending me.”

“We’re a team, right?” Lexa offered a small smile.

“Damn right we are!” Raven grinned. “We’ll go to Tondc with you, Lexa!”

Octavia regarded Raven with a ‘are you kidding me’ look as Harper shook her head and filled her mouth with fries from the quickly disappearing pile on the tray so she didn’t have to say anything. When nobody echoed her sentiment, Raven laughed.

“Fine. It’ll just be the two of us.”

“You’d go with me to Tondc?”

“Absolutely. Someone has to keep an eye on you and Ava. You two get in a fight there, we are going to lose our best striker because of Ava.”

Lexa smiled and started to assemble her lunch of fresh veggies, chicken and some sort of rice concoction that resembled what Lincoln ate a few minutes ago. Now that the day’s morning drama had been covered, talk of their own less eventful mornings could continue.

“This weekend, everyone coming to my place?” Raven asked.

After a mixture of non-commitment from pretty much everyone at the table and Octavia’s reminder that she was going out with Lincoln, Raven shrugged and suggested another weekend when things weren’t so hectic.

“Think your parents will let you out for at least a couple hours?” Raven asked Lexa.

“Doubt it. I might just spend it with school work and do some work on my bike.”

“You have a bike?” Raven asked, her voice raising with excitement.

“Yeah. It’s a work in progress and doesn’t run yet, but I’ll get’er there.”

“It’s a Triumph, right?”

“Yeah. ‘73…”

“Bonneville.” they both said at the same time.

Clarke couldn’t help but lean forward across the table and grin at Anya who was busy eating her own lunch while half-listening to the conversation. When Raven went into motorcycle-mode she went deep.

“I think their romance just hit the next level. You didn’t have a chance.”

Anya coughed on the piece of sandwich she was trying to eat as it tried to work it’s way down her windpipe. After a short coughing fit and Raven who abandoned the conversation about the motorcycle to make sure Anya was alright.

“Babe, are you OK?”

“Fine. Clarke just told a joke I wasn’t expecting.”

Raven glared at Clarke. “You trying to kill my girl, Griff?”

At her accusation, Clarke lifted her hands in defence and leaned back from the table.

After they exchanged a laugh, Clarke asked Lexa if she’d still be able to attend their study groups.

“I didn’t ask, but I’ll find out tonight and let you know what my parents say.”

“Maybe they’ll let me come over and have a look at your bike? Tell them you promised me earlier in the week I could see it this weekend with you.”

“I wish. Indra takes my punishments seriously. I’m lucky I could convince her to let me continue our runs for the next week. Sorry about not being there this morning by the way.”

The school bell rang signaling the start of afternoon classes, and as they did in the morning they packed their things away.

“I’ll take the tray back.” Lexa volunteered. She had a study block so she’d have time to return it to the cafeteria before heading to the library. As they all walked away, Lincoln remained behind after telling Octavia he’d see her after school and giving her a quick kiss.

“You ok, sis?”

“I’m fine. At least I get to still try out for the team.”

“And you’ll make it. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll see you after practice?”

“About that. Mom is going to drive me today and tomorrow as a part of me being grounded. Hanging out with my friends outside of school hours is “not allowed young lady”.” Lexa mocked Indra’s voice while frowning, understanding that she wouldn’t be able to hang out with Clarke and her friends after practice. 

“On the bright side, it’s only two days.” he said as he started to move in the direction of the school. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later, Linc.”

Lexa rose up from the table after stuffing everything into her backpack. She threw the bag over her shoulder grabbed the cafeteria tray and headed off toward the door that represented the start of the afternoon. She opened the door and as she walked through it to make her way to the cafeteria, all she could think of was how grateful she was that the only had two more classes until practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lexa. Lexa. Lexa. *sigh* Had to go and get yourself in trouble.


	13. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after receiving her punishment from her parents for her altercation with Ava, Lexa returns to Polis High to see what punishment Principal Moss and the coaches have in store for her. With the fear of being suspended and not being able to join the Panthers kru this year, Lexa's nerves are tense which don't help her any when she finds herself in another situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter update part deux! 
> 
> Here it is and see you all in a couple days!

“When you’ve got the ball here, lean your shoulder right and bring your other foot around it and keep your arms up to create space. The defender will think you are going over there when you can bring it here with a little tap like this, giving yourself a little more space to send off your shot on goal.”

Lexa explained the positioning to Kate who’d asked her to show her one of the tricks she did as they gathered the equipment the day before. Unfortunately, their skills were not on par and Kate became nearly became painfully aware of it.

When Kate tried to duplicate Lexa’s dribble, she dragged the ball with her lead foot then dipped her shoulder, trying to emulate the way Lexa’s hips turned when she brought her other foot over the ball. Unfortunately, the danger of putting her weight on the ball led Kate to trip sideways over the ball, and into Lexa who was paying more attention to her Kate’s feet rather than the falling teammate. It was fortunate Lexa’s reflexes were quick enough that she was able to catch her before she spilled to the ground.

“Well, I am now convinced I’m not good enough to play your position. Thanks.”

“You’ll get it. Just practice it over and over until you stop falling.” Lexa teased.

“I’ll have to. I don’t have you to catch me when fall over at home.” Kate said.

“Well, I’m here now. Keep trying.” Lexa said.

Kate’s face reddened slightly and she quickly retrieved the ball that rolled away from them a second ago. “Alright.” she smiled, not looking up from the ball.

“Ladies. We have a surprise for you today!” called out Indra from the sidelines as they were using the small amount of rest time to catch their breath or practice.

Lexa groaned as did Ava, knowing what the surprise was but due to having been told not to share the news with anyone, waited for the speech the head coach was going to give the team about the punishment to come.

“I said sprints, ladies. Two more!”

The coaches whistles pushed the girls forward to mid field and back, shouting their encouragement to keep their knees firing and their cleats digging into the ground. Lexa kept her head down and did everything she could to be one of the few who managed to fight the lactic acid that had begun to work into their legs and allowing them stay upright and keep moving forward. When the last girl who remained upright crossed the end line, Indra blasted one long note on her whistle.

“Great practice everyone. I trust that we won’t have any future repeats of yesterday’s events now that you are all so tired. Grab water and hit the sidelines for stretches before you shower. Octavia.”

Indra didn’t ask, but Octavia assumed she was referring to her leading them in another stretch and called the girls over to where she was going to sit.

“Lexa. Ava. Afterward.” the assistant coaches reminded them of their responsibilities but agreed to the girls request they could do one or the other instead. Lexa suggested to collect and put away the equipment today and would clean the locker room on Friday.

“Yes, coach.” the pair groaned, but only partially because of the extra duties. They both walked over to the group and found spots as far away from each other as they could. When Lexa fell to the grass with the grace of a rock, she let herself fall on to her back and took large gulps of air.

“Seeing as coach is determined to try and kill us all with sprints, I’m going to suggest no more fights or it just might happen.” Octavia said aloud to everyone in attendance, including the Tondc girls who heard about the incident but had no idea they too would be held responsible for the actions of the Polis girls trying out for the team.

“Lexa. Equipment has to come off the field for the football team. Let’s go.” Called one of their coaches who was talking with the football team’s head coach.

“On it.” she said, rolling up off the ground. It was an action that required considerably more effort than she would have liked. When she heard the grunt of a girl in a small group of Tondc players, she saw Kate get up and somehow find the energy to head in the same direction as the equipment on the ground.

“You don’t have to help, it’s ok.” Lexa said.

“We’re a team, right? Well, hopefully soon otherwise I’m going to get upset I’m running these sprints and your mother tried to kill me for nothing.” Kate had a grin on her face as she accepted a bag Lexa handed her to gather the balls in.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get everyone in trouble and make everyone run.” Lexa tried to hide her embarrassment by looking away and picking up some of the balls in the vicinity.

“What doesn’t kill us, right?” she said, helping Lexa gather the balls and then moving on to the pylons and cones that were placed around the field for drills. After a little bit of silence, Kate decided to try to get the conversation going again. “Is this the only punishment you have to do?”

“I wish.” Lexa said, picking up the stack of pylons and cones while Kate slung both bags of balls over her shoulder so they could head over to the equipment room. “My parents grounded me, I can’t use my cellphone for a week, and now I have to travel to Tondc in the mornings on Sunday for the foreseeable future to work kids soccer.”

“You are coming to Tondc?” Kate’s eyes brightened at the news and she couldn’t help the smile that graced her lips. Lexa would have seen it if she wasn’t lost in the thought of it as punishment.

“Yeah. Great, huh? Like I was really looking forward to spending any of my weekends in Tondc.”

The lack of enthusiasm in Lexa’s reply at the prospect of heading to Tondc took much of the wind out of Kate’s sails and her smile tapered away as she ran through Lexa’s response in her mind.

“It’s not as bad a place. I mean, I’m sure it’s not what all of you are used to here in Polis...”

Lexa turned and looked at Kate whose words had a little bite to them but didn’t understand why. Obviously there was some kind of misunderstanding.

“Wait. Why do you think that…”

“I have to go Lexa. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kate said, unceremoniously dropping the bags to the ground even though they were a good ten meters from the doors of the equipment room.

“Kate, wait.” Lexa called out, looking at the bags and then to the girl who was moving with a tired limp toward the bus that would take her home. “Kate.” This time she didn’t turn around and wave, even though Lexa had hers in the air.

Lexa let out a short growl and kicked one of the bags of balls on the ground when she saw the bus roll away. ‘Great.’ she thought.

A second later, she felt the leg she kicked the bag with start to cramp up at the sudden movement. She grabbed her thigh and yelped, trying to knead out the tightness.

“Making enemies with the friend?” Octavia joked, appearing out of nowhere and helping Lexa to the ground so she could help massage out the tightness in her leg.

“Apparently, the friend turned enemy hates me for some reason.”

“Looks like you peaked at making friends with us. All downhill for you now.” Octavia laughed, but Lexa was frustrated with what just happened and was spending almost all her attention on trying to figure out what drove Kate to become so upset.

“Ow! Octavia, what the hell?”

“Gotta get in there deep or it won’t help any. Trust me, my mom’s a PT.”

“Alright. Just take it easy.

“What pissed her off so much?” Octavia pointed at the bus that took the turn out of the parking lot.

“I told her about having to go to Tondc to train kids soccer and she thought I was angry about going to Tondc because it’s not Polis.”

“Ah.” Octavia nodded.

“What does that mean?”

“Have you ever seen Tondc High?”

“No, why?”

“Look it up online and you’ll see why. There’s a reason those girls have to drive all the way here for tryouts.”

“Octavia, just tell me why.”

Octavia frowned and helped Lexa to her feet after stopping her work on her leg.

“You and Lincoln. You just moved here, right?”

“Yeah.”

“He told me a little about where you lived before. Well, those girls live in a place like where you moved from. They don’t see the girl that came from a similar place, they see the Lexa that wears new Nike Phantom’s, a perfect practice kit and someone who plays soccer like a rock star that has been to every soccer camp available since she was able to walk.”

“I’ve never had a kit like this before. Or cleats like these.” Lexa argued.

“You live in a house with a pool, Lexa. You may not be rich from where they stand and from Kate’s perspective? Think about it. What was it like for you to go to rich schools and play against their teams?”

Lexa groaned at the realization of how she must have seemed. Kate was nothing but nice to her even though she must have seemed like such a snob. This week was going sideways on her and she had no idea what to do.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“What do you mean, what am I ‘ _going to do about it’_? What can I do? She hates me and I must look like a total bitch now.”

“Lexa, do you think she needed to learn an offensive dribble as a player trying out to be a full back or centre back?”

“What?”

“You think she wants to help you carry equipment all the way from the field to the equipment room after the practice we had?”

“She said we’re a team. Teams help each other out.”

Octavia rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. “Lexa, you have to be the most useless...  wait, Come here. Let me help you out.”

She stepped directly in front of Lexa and lifted her hands to her shoulders, turning her so they could look directly at each other. With the most serious look she could muster without cracking a smile she said,

“Lexa, she likes you.”

“But she…”

“No. Lexa. Kate likes you.”

As the look of understanding worked over Lexa, Octavia punched her in the shoulder.

“Now you get it? Talk to her tomorrow. I’ll bet she’ll give you a chance to explain what you meant.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then if she doesn’t make the team, you might never have to see her again and no big deal. You’re just that rich chick that talked down to her from her elevated status in society.”

“Octavia!” Lexa whined.

“She’ll talk to you! She likes you Lexa and I doubt she could just ignore you.”

“What do I say to her?”

“That depends entirely on how you feel about her.” Octavia explained. “Can’t help you there. What I can help with is these two bags. Now just because I'm helping you with these doesn't mean I like you in that way. I'm just using you for your brother."

Octavia laughed, but Lexa was still trying to figure out what was going on. She didn’t quite believe what she’d heard.

_‘Kate likes me?’_

“Hey, Lexa. Pylons. Let’s go before your leg locks up again.”

“Ok.” Lexa said, her focus being pulled back to the field and reaching down and grabbing the remaining equipment. She didn’t know what else to say.

After leaving the locker room, Lexa hustled over to the tables and explained to Clarke and everyone else that she had to head straight home after practice because of the fight yesterday. They all groaned but knew there was no point in trying to get Lexa to protest. They’d seen what Indra made the team do because of the fight and the woman scared them. When Clarke asked about the study group, she gave the same answer with a slight amendment that she did to Lincoln at lunch.

“I’ll ask tonight and I’ll hope online after my homework and let everyone know."

“Alexandra.” Called the stern voice of her mother, who was making long strides on the way to the parking lot.

“Sorry, guys. See you tomorrow if I can’t use my laptop to chat tonight.”

They watched Lexa chase after her mother and disappear into the passenger seat of her blue Toyota Camry.

As they drove off Clarke turned to Octavia and asked, “Does Lexa seem down? I thought she was happy she wasn't going to be suspended. And what was with that girl from Tondc?”

"Oh, you mean Kate?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah. It looked like they were going to throw down."

Raven approached the table and when she got there, she took a seat on Anya's lap.

"What are we talking about?" Raven asked.

"Kate. The girl from Tondc." Clarke answered.

"The one Lexa was working with earlier? What happened? Girls in the locker room were asking about what happened but nobody knew. All everyone was hoping for was to not have to run any more sprints."

"That's what I want to know. O?" They all turned and looked at her, causing her to lean back.

"Am I the only one who isn't blind? Kate likes Lexa." she explained.

"Wait." Raven sputtered. "What? Since when?" This was not something Raven wanted to hear but when she felt Anya wrap her arms around her stomach, she calmed herself down to listen.

"Probably from the moment she first saw her? Hello? They got into it today because Lexa might have told her she wasn't looking forward to going to Tondc. Kate took it as an insult because she thought Lexa is above it."

"We all know that's not true. Lexa must be pretty broken up about it." Anya suggested.

"Well, now she's mad at Lexa so we have to help her out, guys. Does anyone have her on Facebook or Insta?"

Raven was about to protest, but Anya pulled her firmly back into her stomach as a warning. When Raven looked back at her, she closed her eyes and shook her head slightly at her girlfriend currently sitting in her lap. A girlfriend with a frown that would cause a headache if she kept it there much longer. Everyone at the table started to discuss ideas and were quite excited about the prospect of making things right for Lexa. That was until Finn's voice carried over the increasing excitement at the table.

"Maybe we should let them work it out themselves before we start getting involved. they have another practice before the team is selected. Let's give them a chance to work things out. If she needs help, maybe we can do something after?"

Everyone regarded the boy sitting beside Clarke. He was usually quiet but as he spoke, everyone realized that Fin's advice was probably the best they could follow. Clarke wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"That is exactly what we're going to do." Clarke declared. "Good thinking."

He didn't say anything and everyone at the table acknowledged that it was the right idea. They should let Lexa sort things out with Kate. Nobody knew if Lexa was even interested in the girl. Or if she even liked girls that way. Jumping in before they knew could have been disastrous for all parties involved.

"It's a good idea, don't you think babe?" Anya shook Raven slightly with her arms.

The frown on her face lessened but that was because she found herself agreeing with Finn. Finn the one standing between her and her vision, her vision of 'Clexa'. As the thought of the name flashed in front of her, she displayed her Eureka-face to the group which worried Anya a little bit. Especially with the topic at hand.

"Babe?"

"It was a great idea. I love it." Raven declared. To strangers, they may have questioned Raven's swift change of mood but for everyone sitting at the table that was used to her, this was just a normal Raven moment that happens from time to time.

"Hun, can you give me a ride home?" Raven turned and pressed a kiss to Anya's cheek.

"Only if you tell me why on the way."

"Deal. We're out everyone. See you tomorrow!" Raven jumped up from Anya's lap so they cold depart. She even grabbed her girlfriend's backpack for her as they left the tables.

"Whatever she's thinking Anya, be careful." Clarke warned.

"Oh, I know. Isn't anything I can't handle." Anya joked as she pulled her keys from her pocket, heading toward her car. "See you all later."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lexa finds herself getting in trouble after yet another practice? What is it with this girl?! 
> 
> It's a good thing Octavia is there to explain what's going on because Lexa is oblivious! Of course if you ask Raven, Octavia isn't helping at all.


	14. Trouble in Tondc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa discovers the reason behind Kate's reaction, and Octavia has some fun with Clarke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the update!
> 
> Hope you enjoy and I look forward to thoughts/comments.
> 
> See you all in a couple days!

“You know you’ve been grounded, Lexa. That includes not using social media or chatting with your friends instead of doing your homework.”

Lexa had spent the better part of twenty minutes pleading with Indra, promising that she wouldn’t spend her time just surfing the internet and playing games on her laptop but her mother wouldn’t budge. Part of her was convinced that when she told Indra about her study group she would let her take it upstairs to use in the privacy of her own room that she would relent but the woman wouldn’t budge.

“But this isn’t going out with my friends. This is for school work and trying to get good grades!”

“I don’t see why you can’t do that on your computer here in the living room.” Indra countered.

“Mom, you and dad are on the phone, or listening to music, or talking all the time. I can’t concentrate.”

“But if your friends are messaging you all the time and you are surfing the internet, that won’t be distracting?”

“Indra, honey?” Gustus said, waving her over to the living room. Indra couldn’t help but scowl at his request. This is what they always did. They agreed on a punishment and then he bent enough to give Lexa what what wanted. They walked across the living room and into the study, closing the door behind them.

“Gustus, we talked about this.” Indra warned.

“I’m not going to say we should forgive her.”

“But you are going to suggest we go easy on her.” Indra’s hands were on her hips and she stared at her husband with suspect eyes.

“I’m saying we should just let her use her laptop in her room.”

“We agreed on her punishment last night, Gustus. it was only one day ago.”

“We know she will use it to chat with her friends, but we also know she’ll do her homework. It’ll save us the effort of having to walk into the kitchen and having her close all the tabs on her browser just to open them up again when we walk out of the room.”

“Gustus, she has to know we are serious.”

“I think she knows. I imagine every girl trying out for your team is also quite upset with our daughter for making them run until they dropped from exhaustion.”

“A team is only as strong as it’s weakest link. We both know that.”

“And I heard that one girl even got mad at her to the point they got in an argument?”

“How did you hear about that?”

“Lincoln called. Said something about taking a girl named Octavia to the mall for something-or-other.”

“I see. Well, yes. One of the girls from Tondc. I’m not sure what it was about but she’s one of the girls on the edge right now and even though Lexa was coaching her today, I’m not sure she’s going to make it.”

Gustus stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his wife’s back allowing him to slowly pull her toward his chest. She lifted her arms in defence, keeping slight separation and displaying a knowing grin on her lips as she looked up at him.

“I know what you are trying to do.”

“What is it I’m trying to do?” Gustus asked, his voice offering the right mixture of innocence and mischievousness.

“You are trying to make me think giving your daughter her laptop back to use in her room is a good idea.”

Gustus leaned forward and brushed his nose against hers.

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“Among other things…”

“And what other things would that be?”

Lifting her fingers to his lips, she stared into his brown eyes and let out a sigh of resignation. She didn’t stand a chance. Not when he looked at her like that.

“Lexa!” Indra shouted.

“Yeah, mom?” she asked, her voice closer than expected.

“You can take your Laptop upstairs.”

“Thank you, mom!” and after a short pause, “And Dad!”

They both heard her feet quickly pad across the living room then onward up the stairs to her room. Indra let her forehead fall forward into Gustus’ stout chest. She took a deep breath when she could feel Gustus lean his head forward and kiss the top of her head.

“Oh no.” Indra pushed back from Gustus who feigned being hurt. “You wanted something from me. I think it is only fair I get something from you in return.”

“Now you are speaking my language.” Gustus grinned.

Indra tilted her head back and let out a hearty laugh which drew a confused look from her husband who wondered what Indra was playing at. He let her go and leaned back so he was sitting on the edge of his cherry-stained wooden desk.

“If not that, then what is it that my wife would ask of me?”

“Your wife asks nothing. As her husband has already received a prize from his most generous wife, she has already decided what she has be given.”

“Will she share what she has declared as her prize?” Gustus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“She has decided she will be sleeping in on Sundays.”

“Sundays?” Gustus asked, wondering why she made this declaration. “Why Sundays?”

Indra smirked and then spun around to make her way to the door. Gustus watched her with amusement at her exaggerated movements in allowing the drama to build before her explanation. She reached down, slowly opened the door and took her first few steps out of the room before she sad anything.

“Because your daughter can’t drive yet, you now have the privilege of driving her to Tondc bright-and-early every Sunday so she can coach her soccer matches.”

Gustus cracked a big smile and let his hands rub over his face with the realization she’d gotten the better of him.

“Dinner is in fourty-five minutes, honey. The salad isn’t going to prepare itself.” Indra called out with laughter in her voice as she headed toward the kitchen.

“I suppose not. On my way.” Gustus said with a smile, walking from the study and across the living room to the kitchen.

He stopped as he crossed the threshold of the room with a look outside and and suggested they use the barbecue rather than the grill inside, that way they could all enjoy the fresh air on the patio while they ate. Indra agreed it would be a great idea and started to prep the Hawaiian chicken kebabs they had planned for dinner.

~*~

Lexa wiggled herself into a comfortable spot on top of her bed and flipped the lip of her laptop open and was greeted by the familiar picture of her family when they were on a camping trip a couple years ago. The four of them surrounded by tall pines and a small, two bedroom cabin they stayed in, a column of smoke rising from the chimney inside. To Lexa’s recollection it felt like a one bedroom cabin with an over-sized closet, but that didn’t matter. The memories they made that weekend did.

Lexa dragged the cursor over to her browser and tapped it open. She thought about opening up her Facebook chat, but decided against it - at least until after dinner. Typing ‘Tondc High School’ in the search engine, she let her eyes fall on the first article which immediately piqued her interest so she clicked the link.

“Tondc High School Slated for Closing due to Budget Cuts”

As she skimmed the article, her understanding is that the state is running in deficit and is looking for ways to cut spending, particularly in Tondc via termination of extra-curricular activities.

The article had quotes from the government officials expressing this was the only place they could cut without harming local services, teachers discussing full classrooms of students who don’t have enough text books for each student, and from students who were the ones who were the casualties of the actions taken by board administrators.

A bit further down the page, parents of students shared stories about having to pack up and move their families away from lives they have built within the community. Many fathers and mothers suggested they might have to leave the state because there wasn’t enough work to cover their bills.

Lexa’s heart broke a little reading story after story that all summarized the same thing; Tondc was a town in trouble and everyone that lived there wasn’t waiting for an ‘ _if_ ’, they were waiting for ‘ _when_ ’.

“Lexa, dinner is in thirty minutes.” Indra called from downstairs, prompting Lexa to holler her understanding.

“Alright, mom!”

She spent the next twenty minutes clicking links and trying to figure out what happened in Tondc that led to the situation they are in and a knock on the door made Lexa jump a little in surprise. She looked up to see her brother standing there at the door with his backpack on his shoulder which meant he had just gotten home.

“Hey Linc.”

“Hey. They are letting you use your laptop in your room?”

“Yeah. Dad talked mom into letting me use it up here again.”

Lincoln shook his head and took a few steps into the room and looked at her empty walls. She still hadn’t put up any pictures or put any of her trophies on the shelves in the room.

“Octavia told me what happened today.”

“Octavia should leave other people’s business alone.”

“C’mon Lex, she was just looking out for you. Besides, I heard she told you why the girl reacted the way she did.”

Lexa couldn’t help but feel nervousness wash over her, hiding her eyes on her laptop screen to appear distracted.

“Her name is Kate. And we are just teammates. Or at least, trying to be.”

“Just teammates? I was talking about Tondc and their school being in trouble because they can’t afford to have sports teams and that you pissed them off about having to go to Tondc on weekends. What are you talking about?” Lincoln gave her a confused look trying to figure out what she was ton about.

“Nothing. Never mind.” Lexa shook her head. Maybe Octavia didn’t tell him everything. “Yeah, they are having a lot of trouble. I guess the reason they can’t have a side of their own is because too many kids have moved away. The board decided to cut the athletic budget in order to save some money for their school.”

“It’s an hour long trip back to Tondc every day for them. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for them to make it on time for practices here, then get home to do all the work they have to do for classes.”

“They have to travel two hours?”

“Yeah. Their school sold the property that their team played on so they can’t practice there. They can’t afford the fees to use the public fields so they have to come all the way to Polis.”

Lexa felt the pit in her stomach growing for what she said. She hoped Kate would give her the opportunity to explain, but there was not much time for the players to talk during practice. Her hope was that she would be willing before they run sprints again tomorrow.

“Things are for her just like they were for us back home.” Lexa said. “Those girls must really love soccer to spend two hours a day on a bus to just even try out for the team. I went and made it seem like they didn’t belong here.” Lexa closed her eyes and shut the lid of her laptop. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It doesn’t matter if you did or not. Just imagine what you would have done to a girl if they said that to you back home. Remember that team from Mount Weather, the ones whose dad played on the National team?”

“Yeah.” Lexa frowned. Her memory of that team parading around after getting off their luxury bus with matching kits and all new gear like they owned their school. They were relegated to their division after finishing last in their division and acted superior to everyone they played. Her eyes opened wide and tears threatened to spill over her eyelids. “Oh my god, Linc. I am them! I treated Kate like that!”

Lincoln didn’t expect the reaction from his sister he was observing but when she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders started to shake and the tears flowed through her fingers.

“Lex, you aren’t like them. You’ve never acted like a spoiled kid. If anything, we’re more like the kids from Tondc than anyone else in our school.”

“But I am! They are willing to travel two hours every day to just for a chance to be on the team and I acted like going to Tondc once a week to help kids play soccer was below me. Kate is from Tondc and that means after she tells them what I said they will all think I’m some rich spoiled girl from Polis whose parents are rich because we have a pool.”

“Woah, woah. Easy Lex.”

“I don’t know what to say to Kate to make it ok. She probably hates me right now.”

“Then just tell her the truth. You wanted to work Sundays so you could make money and pay to fix your bike. What is so hard about that?”

Lexa recalled the look Kate gave her before she spun around and headed toward the bus while hearing Octavia’s voice reminding her, “Lexa, Kate likes you”. As the memory flashed through her mind, she groaned and fell backward on her bed.

“You don’t get it. I don’t know what to say to her!”

“Kids, Dinner!” Indra’s voice rang out through the house.

“Ok, Mom. We’ll be right down.” Lincoln answered as he turned to make his way out of the room and toward his own. regarding his sister’s behaviour with curiosity.

“Well, better think of something. You only have two days of tryouts left and I heard they might not be able to make it Friday because of some thing happening at their school.”

“What do you mean?”

Lincoln shrugged, unable to provide her with an answer to satisfy her curiosity. “This Friday there is something happening in their town and it is at their high school. That’s all I know. Maybe you can find out tomorrow.”

Lexa nodded and for a moment and watched her brother head off to his room. She considered opening up her laptop again to look into it but Indra called them to dinner. Instead, Lexa slowly rolled off her bed trying to avoid her leg from cramping up any worse than it already had. She made her way downstairs taking full advantage of the railing to help ease the pressure on her and when she entered the kitchen, she heard Gustus’ voice call her out to the patio.

“We’re eating out here tonight, kiddo.”

~*~

Everyone but Clarke, and Octavia called it a day and left the school for the remainder of the day. Octavia, like Lexa, would wait until her brother finished with practice so she could get a ride home. With Murphy giving Monty and Harper a ride home, the tables got fairly quiet. Finn explained his dad had an appointment they had to go to which meant he couldn’t stay behind with Clarke and the only reason she had a smile on his face was because before he left he told her he’d miss her.

Now the pair listened to he sound of boys on the field slamming into each other filled the area, along with grunts and the piercing sound of whistles from the coaches who seems to only know how to blow into the small plastic toys or yell at the players.

“Reminds me of Coach Woods.” Octavia mumbled at the constant blast of the whistles.

“She was really hard on everyone today. Is she going to make you guys do more sprints tomorrow?” Finn asked.

“Probably. She kept going on about how “The team will only be as strong as it’s weakest link or some nonsense like that. I don’t know for sure because I was busy trying to keep my lunch down.”

Clarke couldn’t help but laugh.

“So. Kate and Lexa?”

“I know Kate likes Lexa. I heard a couple girls from Tondc talking about how she couldn’t shut up about how good Lexa is at soccer. Lexa is apparently all she could go on about at school today before they arrived.”

“Does Lexa like her?” Clarke asked, tapping her finger tip on the table.

“I don’t know. She was completely oblivious then I told her that Kate liked her. Unfortunately, it may have all blown up in Lexa’s face after what she said. I’d be surprised if she even showed up at practice tomorrow.”

“Do you think we should listen to Finn’s advice?”

“I think we should listen to it. Question is, what was Raven thinking when she left with Anya? She had ‘eureka-eyes’ which can’t be any good for the parties involved.”

“It sucks she is grounded. I was going to invite her over this weekend so I could get to know her a bit better. She said she loves hiking and I was going to go up to to Pike’s Creek and do some drawing because Finn is at some military thing with his father.”

“That’s right,” Octavia nodded “His father got transferred here. It must be tough to live a life like that.”

“He says it isn’t so bad. He’s been able to travel a lot of places and spent two years in Japan when he was younger. That was when he fell in love with art.”

“You two have a lot in common with art.” Octavia suggested.

“We do. It’s great to meet someone who sees art the way I do.”

“And you think he’s pretty.” Octavia could see her cheeks redden slightly. “It’s ok. He is pretty. I don’t like that he has nicer hair than I do, though. That means you two have to call it quits.”

“Not likely.” Clarke scoffed.

“So you admit you want to date him?”

“I… we…”

Octavia began to sing, “Clarke has a boyfriend. Clarke has a boyfriend!” which led to Clarke reaching across the table so she could shove the smaller brunette who was now sporting a grin.

“We have only known each other for a couple days, O.” Clarke glanced around conspiratorially and then focused on Octavia. “And if you screw it up for me I’ll get Raven to blow you up.”

Octavia’s grin vanished into a look of shock that was betrayed by a small smile that worked it’s way over top.

“Your not-so-secret is safe with me Griff. I agree with the Lexa thing. It sucks she got grounded, especially when she was standing up for me.”

“Lexa might not be the most talkative, but I think she is very loyal to her friends. I don’t want to seem like a bad friend to Wells, but if he had to go, I’m glad she moved into his house. Does that make me sound bad?”

Reaching across the table, Octavia covered Clarke’s hand with her own and gave it a squeeze when she saw Clarke’s eyes start to sadden. She’s glad Clarke brought him up because the group had decided there was a Wells embargo unless Clarke mentioned him beforehand.

“Absolutely not. He’d be happy you’ve become friends with Lincoln and Lexa. Speaking of. How is Wells doing?”

“He’s Good. He misses everyone but thinks with school starting things will get so busy that it will help distract him.”

“Does he know Clarke has a boyfriend?”

“O!” Clarke slapped Octavia’s hand with her free hand. “I might have told him about Finn.”

“And what did he say?”

“He said he was happy for me. He seemed a little sad, though. I think he just misses everyone.”

“Did you tell him about Lexa and Lincoln?”

“No. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to replace him with the people who moved into his old house.”

“Clarke, it wasn’t your fault his dad got transferred. Finn had to up and leave his friends too. If anything, he should be happy you’ve made friends with both of them.”

“Maybe.” Clarke conceded. Maybe she would tell him this weekend when they Facetime.

The sound of a long whistle blast from the field behind signaled the end of practice and Lincoln came running over to the benches where Clarke and Octavia sat.

“I’ll be back out in fifteen then we can go to the mall. Sound good?” he asked, motioning to wrap his sweaty frame around the much smaller girl, causing her to squeal in horror at the possibility of being covered in sweat. Thankfully, only his arms touched her and he’d mostly dried them off.

“EEEEEEW! Lincoln!” Octavia slid under the table to get away from him and popped up right next to Clarke, a picnic table between them now. Clarke’s glare at Lincoln told him everything he needed to know about coming around the table and trying that again.

“Fifteen minutes!” he said, turning and running off toward the locker room where Bellamy was giving him stink eye.

“Oh my GOD. Now I have sweat all over me.”

“Yeah, like that isn’t what you think about at night, too.” Clarke teased, claiming retribution for Octavia’s earlier comments regarding Finn.

“I’ll have you know I’m not that kind of a girl.” Octavia declared, her chin proudly held high.

“But does he?” Clarke pointed in the direction of the boys locker room and wiggled her eyebrows. When Octavia motioned to smack Clarke, the blonde got up from the table and ran off to her car.

“That’s right Griffin. Run!” Octavia laughed at the sight of Clarke sprinting down to the gate then over to her car, not 5 meters away if she’d just have hopped the fence.

Once Clarke got to her car, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she could see Raven had sent her a message.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, O. Have fun at the mall and Love ya!”

“Back at ya, Clark-ie. See you tomorrow.”

Clarke slipped into her car and swiped the lock screen to see Raven’s message.

Raven: “Up for company tonight?”

Clarke: “Sure. Want me to pick you up?”

Raven: “Got that covered. I’m going to drive over. If it gets late, can I crash there? I can get up early to make it home in the morning to change to run with Lexa.

Clarke: “Sure. I’m on my way home from school now. I’ll call my parents and let them know you are coming over.”

Raven: “Awesome. I’ll bring some snacks for the homework sesh. See you soon!”

Clarke tossed her phone into the seat next to hear and started off on her way home. High school wasn’t turning out to be as nerve-wracking as she’s imagined. She credited that to her friends and there was one brown-haired boy in particular who seemed to have the magical ability to always be present in her thoughts and lift her spirits. It was in that moment Clarke decided it was going to be an amazing school year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Gustus. He should know by now the ladies in his life run the show.


	15. A Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke starts to question her childhood dream of her future and confides in Raven. Lexa has a chance to set things straight and comes up with an idea to help the players in Tondc who face a bleak future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone and welcome to new readers of this fic!
> 
> This chapter sets the direction for the next few chapters and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the comments(they actually do help me with this story and make alterations I think could help) and the kudos.
> 
> The next chapter will be up fairly soon(next day or two) so I will see you all then. Have a great Sunday!

Clarke was sat on her parent’s patio, currently surrounded by stacks upon stacks of papers as if it were five months into classes and she was cramming for finals rather than just barely a week into classes after the summer.

“Heya Griff.”

Looking up from her laptop, Clarke watched Raven step through the screen door of the patio and bound through the opened doorway only to stop cold in her tracks when she saw what was once likely an entire forest worth of paper scattered around the table.

“Hey Rae. Welcome to the chaos.” Clarke waved her hands around at the various piles.

“It’s only day three of the new school year, Clarke! You can’t possibly be that far behind or disorganized on your notes yet.”

“I’m just trying to organize the note taking before classes to get a jump on the term. I’m just sorting it all out.”

“Only you, Clarke.” she laughed. “Here, I’ll give you a hand.” Raven said as she abandoned her backpack to the ground beside the table and sliding a seat over so she could pull it next to Clarke. “What are we trying to do?”

“Biology in the red binder, English in the blue binder…” Clarke went on, pointing to the many binders on the table and their corresponding stack of papers, syllabus, as well as piles for next term.

“How did you get the syllabi for your classes next term?” Raven asked, a confused look on her face.

“I e-mailed the teachers.” Clarke shrugged.

Raven laughed again as she gathered some of a pile of notes and putting them in the corresponding binder, amused that this was something only Clarke would do. She was a determined student and had Raven not been gifted with her eidetic memory, she could only wish to be half as dedicated as Clarke.

“Anyone online?” Raven asked, pointing to Clarke’s laptop.

Clarke tapped a key opening it from sleep-mode and everyone was in offline mode. She decided to abandon the laptop and close the app to power it down. “Nobody. I guess everyone is busy. Lexa is still grounded so she can’t use her laptop without her parents around. It sucks they have banned her from using chat.”

“Yeah. Her mom seems pretty strict. If she’s half as hard on Lexa and Lincoln at home as she is on everyone in practice, I feel for her but I don’t think that’s the case. Her dad is a really nice guy.”

“You know her parents? They are good people?”

“Yeah and from what I’ve heard from Octavia, Lincoln says they are great parents. I don’t know the specific details but their parents have an advertising company that has become pretty big and were able to move here from Arkadia because of it.”

Clarke ran through the memory of their conversation the first night they met and could recall Lexa saying something to that effect. She wasn’t very revealing about her past or where they came from but Lexa had an edge to her that appealed to Clarke. She seemed like someone that didn’t take crap from anyone and everything she’d seen from Lexa to this point had lived up to her assumption.

“Speaking of Octavia and Lincoln? That happened pretty fast.”

“They are cute together so I’m pulling for them. For a big guy, Lincoln is such a softie. The Panthers are be lucky that he moved here and joined the team. Should I say the same for you and Finn?” Clarke could feel her cheeks redden but tried to put it out of her mind. “How are you two doing?”

“I don’t know. He was supposed to come over tonight to talk about our term art project. We were going to discuss trying to fuse two mediums and present the idea to Mrs. Cartwig but I might end up deciding to work on an oil painting.”

“He couldn’t make it?”

“He had to go to some work thing with his father. It turns out his father is some shot-caller in the military an he is expected to go to a lot of the dinners to support him and give the appearance of being a “strong family unit”.” Clarke explained.

“His dad is military? Is that why he transferred here?”

“Yeah. He’s moved a lot the last few years because of it. This is his third school in two years.”

“That has to be really hard on him.”

“There is something else, but he hasn’t told me about it yet. I think he has a hard time trusting people and he was saying he’s really glad he has us to hang around with at school.”

“All we can do is be there for him, I guess.”

“We can try. I think Bellamy doesn’t like him. Aside from the first day at lunch, I don’t think they haven’t said two words to each other.”

“Bellamy’s always been that way. Look at how he treats Lincoln. He’s just got to get to know him. It didn’t help Lexa tricked him into agreeing Lincoln could go on a date with his sister.” Raven couldn’t help but chuckle at the recollection of Lexa destroying Bellamy after he made the bet.

“It was great to see him get knocked down a few pegs. Lexa destroyed him. Oh! And the look on his face afterward when he saw how happy Octavia was.” Clarke began to laugh, revisiting the memory of meeting Lexa and being impressed she was new but not afraid to hold her own in a crowd of strangers. A moment later, Raven’s voice pulled her from her daydream with a question.

“What’s this?” Raven asked, picking up a pamphlet that was tucked in some of the notes.

Clarke watched as Raven opened the tri-fold piece of paper and quickly scan it.

“You are thinking of going to med school?”

“Maybe.” Clarke sounded hesitant. “It’s something I thought a bit about this summer. I got that to see what I classes I would need to do over the next few years.”

“I thought you wanted to go to New York and study art.”

“I want to, I mean, is that really a career? There are a lot of people who spend their lives trying to become something and wind up serving coffee and tea in some stuffy red-bricked boutique store and never get anywhere.”

“God Clarke! It is way too early in your life to be freaking out whether or not you will be an artistic flop. Besides, I’ve seen your paintings and drawings and they are awesome.”

Clarke leaned back in her seat and sighed causing Raven to snicker.

“What?”

“You are officially the oldest sixteen year old I’ve ever met.”

“Shut-up.” Clarke smacked her friend on the shoulder, cracking a smile as she did it.

“Does your mom know?”

“About the pamphlet? No. I don’t want to get her hopes up if I decide not to study medicine. All I hear every holiday is how proud she will be if I decide to go into medicine.”

“I know. I remember last Christmas.”

“Did you know she wanted to buy me a stethoscope and my dad had to talk her out of it? I’m pretty sure she still bought it and probably got me a matching smock to wear on my first day.”

“Well, you are taking chemistry and biology next semester. It’s after the holidays so maybe I’ll suggest that you could use one for classes.” Raven grinned.

“Don’t you dare, Rae.”

“Maybe she’ll even monogram it for you! Clarke Griffin, ‘Future M.D.’. It would be so cute. Little cursive pink letters.”

“Rae, shush! I don’t want to get my mom excited about it if I’m not going to do it.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll chill.”

“You don’t want to get who excited about what if you aren’t going to do it?” Called a voice from the kitchen.

“Nothing mom.” Clarke said, snatching the pamphlet out of Raven’s hands and stuffing it in her backpack all the while shooting a warning glare at Raven.

“I was talking to Clarke about where I was thinking of go to college, Mrs G!” Raven yelled out, shrugging at Clarke in defence.

“That’s great, Raven but there’s still plenty of time to worry about that. Enjoy high school while you can because it will be over and done before you know it.” Abby said from the patio entrance. “Lots of things can change between now and then.”

“Thanks for the advice, mom.” Clarke smiled. “First, we have to get through our freshman year alive.”

“I’m sure you both will do just fine.” Abby stated confidently. “I’ll leave you two to your studying but don’t forget to take a break after a little while.”

“We won’t.” they both answered.

~*~

Lexa carried her laptop over to her desk and set it down so she could charge it while she read through one of her text books but curiosity got the better of her so she powered it on, taking the chance to see if anyone was online. After the app loaded, it showed that only one user was online and that it was Clarke. Lexa smiled seeing that at least one friend was online and tapped open a chat window but as she was half way through typing a message, Clarke suddenly went offline.

She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed as she tapped the backspace key until the message vanished and the chat only had a blinking cursor in the background. With a sigh, she closed the app herself and opened her Facebook to see what her friends in Arkadia were up to. The thought crossed her mind that maybe she could find Kate’s profile and apologize. That was if she even used Facebook.

After liking a few of the posts with amusing pictures of her old friends, a little icon appeared in her notifications telling her she has a new friend request, and a picture of a smiling Kate with a group of people she assumed were her friends asked for confirmation. Lexa bit her lip and moved the cursor over confirm. After a moment, Lexa let her finger tap the mouse pad to add Kate as a friend. It didn’t too long before a chat notification lit up.

 **Kate:** _Hi! Thanks for adding me. I hope you don't mind me stalking you down on Facebook and and adding you as a friend._

 **Lexa:** _I’m glad you found my profile. I was going to look for you but you beat me to it. I want to apologize for what I said earlier after practice._

 **Kate:** _It’s ok. I kind of over reacted and may have let some things a friend was saying about Polis work into my head._

 **Lexa:** _Still, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I should have said I was hoping to find a job and work part-time on Sundays and now that I will be in Tondc, it means I won’t be able to work as much as I’d hoped._

 **Kate:** T _hat makes sense. Now I feel bad for what I said._

 **Lexa:** _Don’t feel bad! I understand why you reacted the way you did. I kind of looked online about Tondc High when I got home. I hope you don’t mind._

 **Kate** : _It’s alright that you looked into it. It isn’t really a secret - not for anyone in Tondc. It’s just a really sensitive subject for our school and our teams. We had to fight all summer just to keep the soccer team._

 **Lexa:** _I’m glad you were able to save it. I heard all of you might not make it to practice on Friday?_

 **Kate:** _There is a town hall with the mayor and all the school board people. We need to be there to announce a raffle on Saturday. We are trying to raise money so we can pay for the bus we use to travel._

Lexa took a deep breath and held it when she heard how difficult things were for the girls in Tondc. She did the only thing she knew to do, and her fingers quickly tapped away at her keyboard.

 **Lexa:** _Is there anything I can do to help?_

 **Kate** : _Don’t suppose you have thirty grand tucked away? I’m kidding, btw. Unless you actually do have $30K laying around. ;)_

 **Lexa:** _I wish! Unfortunately I’m a poor, first-year high school student who lives at home and still needs her parents to buy her meals. Part of my wish to find a job._

 **Kate:** _The raffle should be really helpful and raise us enough to rent a passenger van so getting back and forth to and from Polis won’t be a problem. The boys teams are also working with us and we are doing what we can to get the word out._

 **Lexa:** _I may not have thirty grand, but I do have a bunch of friends who may be willing to help out. I can talk to them and see what we can do._

 **Kate:** _That would be really helpful. The more people we could have coming to the raffle and the more we can raise, the better it will be for all the teams and other programs like music and art._

 **Lexa** : _I’ll talk to everyone I know and get them to pass the word along. I’ll speak to my mom about getting the girls here to organize something too._

 **Kate** : _That would be great! I will talk to you more about it tomorrow at practice. Hey, I gotta go because my dad is hounding me and saying I need to do my homework instead of chatting with my friends._

 **Lexa:** _Alright. I had the same conversation with my parents earlier. Again I’m sorry for what I said at practice. I am glad we got a chance to sort it out. I’ll see you at practice. :)_

 **Kate** : _Same here and I’m looking forward to it. Maybe you can show me more moves! Catch-ya later, Le_ x! :)

Lexa couldn’t help but crack a smile, watching Kate’s status go offline. She’d managed to salvage a friendship she was worried about losing and now she was going to be able to help them out. She closed Facebook and powered down her laptop so she could make her way downstairs and into the living room where Gustus and Indra were sitting. After Lexa stood there for moment, their attention was pulled from their show they had been watching on Netflix.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Gustus asked.

“Don’t get mad.”

“Why do I think that was directed at me more than your father?” Indra asked, taking a small sip from the wine glass in her hand while she engaged her daughter with a suspicious look.

“I may have been chatting with a friend on my laptop.”

“Lexa, we talked about this. You know the rules.”

“I was looking up Tondc and trying to learn why their school couldn’t have a team of their own. Mom, their school might even end up closing!”

“I know, honey. It’s not fair for those girls but they have the chance to come play here in Polis. At least the players on the team still have an opportunity. Now what does that have to do with you chatting with your friends when you were told not to?”

“They are having a raffle this weekend and I may have told Kate I’d be willing to help out on Saturday.”

“That was very nice of you but something tells me there is more to this.” Gustus said.

“Well, I’m grounded for one. Two, because I kind of said I would talk to my mom about trying to get players trying out involved. If we are supposed to be a team, we should help each other out, right?”

Indra and Gustus shared a look which ultimately led to Gustus turning back and addressing their daughter. It appeared Indra was letting him take the ball.

“And how else does that involve your mother and I?”

“Well. I don’t know. You guys are good at organizing things and you know people. Maybe they could help out? Don’t you know people from when you played and coached, mom? And Dad, you talk to sports teams all the time. It could be a chance for them to get involved locally. Maybe some teams could donate jerseys of game tickets for people to big on for the raffle?”

Lexa couldn’t help but get caught up in the excitement that they might be able to actually be able to help. Unfortunately it all hinged on her parents being able to pull some strings - strings she didn’t know if they had or not.

“I suppose I could put in some calls tomorrow and see what I can get in the way of donations. I’d need to contact their high school first and see if they would be interested.” Gustus suggested.

“I can make a few calls tomorrow as well.” Indra offered. “But I don’t want you discussing this with anyone. We shouldn’t make promises that we can’t keep so until you hear from me, we will keep this quiet.”

“Can I ask my friends to help?” Lexa asked. “I won’t say anything about jerseys or tickets.”

“Jerseys and tickets?” Lincoln asked, making his way into the living room from the kitchen, taking a bite from the red apple in his hand.

“We’re going to try and help Tondc raise money so they can rent a passenger van or a bus that can bring them to Polis and back for practices.”

“That is nice of you. They could really use the help.” Lincoln nodded his approval.

“And you are going to give me a hand, big brother!”

“Oh no.” Lincoln declared. “Date on Saturday, remember?”

“And who got you that date? You owe me.” Lexa poked her finger in her brother’s chest.

“Any other day sis, I’d help. Octavia would kill me for skipping our first official date”

“If she’s in Tondc on Saturday at the raffle that they are having, that means you will be there too. You can help set up and clean up with everyone.”

“Octavia is going to Tondc?” Lincoln couldn’t help but appear confused.

“She will be when I talk to her.” Lexa grinned. “We’re a team and that is more important than some date with a boy.”

“Great.” Lincoln sighed, walking in the direction of the stairs. He;d learned long ago that when Lexa entered this state of motivation, there was no reasoning with her. “Maybe Octavia will be up for going out after the raffle.”

“That’s the spirit, bro! See mom? Dad? Two volunteers already!” Lexa said, proud of her achievement even if she’d only actually convinced one person.

“Great work.” Indra congratulated. “Now, how much of your homework have you done?”

“Uh…”

“That’s what I thought. Go get your work done or I will actually take your laptop away. No more chatting!”

“Alright.” Lexa said, turning toward the stairs and back up to her room to actually do her homework.

When she got to the bottom stair, she could hear discussing the possibilities of what they could do to help and she hoped that whatever they could do, that it would be enough to help Kate and Tondc get through the upcoming year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa just missed each other online! Gah. Don't worry, the planets will all align for them some day. Unfortunately it's not today.
> 
> I know. :( You can yell at me.


	16. Creative Solutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke hits a creative wall, Lexa enlists her friends to help with Tondc's financial dilemma provided Indra gives them the go-ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day to you all!
> 
> Sorry this took so long to post but here it is! The last day of try-outs and the table gets set for a trip to Tondc! 
> 
> The next chapter is brewing and I'll have it up ASAP so you won't have to wait another 10 days. :)
> 
> Thanks for your comments/kudos, and I'll see you all again soon!

Clarke sat in front of her easel, staring at the canvas and trying to decide on a vision to flow from her mind and out on to the white fabric before her. Her bottom lip was more that sore from her slight yet constant nibbling, but she wasn’t ready yet and refused to start. She’d never had a block like this before and it was starting to grind on her. Eventually it turned to her frowning at the canvas, frustration taking hold of her. 

“Just put your brush to it and let whatever happens, happen. Sometimes you just have to throw paint at it until something speaks to you and if that doesn’t happen, try again.”

From time to time Mrs. Cartwig would wander the room and come upon her empty canvas and attempt to inspire her with words but they didn’t offer her anything but a momentary distraction. Clarke didn’t want a distraction, she wanted a way free from the invisible chains that seemed to keep her hands at her side and to feel the spark that always consumes her when she lets her vision free upon the canvas.

“What’s the trouble, Clarke?”

Clarke blinked a couple times and outwardly appeared as though she was being yanked from the private sanctum in her head. It was the place she goes to when she tries to find inspiration, but this time it was like she was lost in there. When she turned to face Finn with a rather distant look in her eyes.

“Hmm?” Clarke asked, unsure of what he asked.

“I asked you what you are having trouble with. Also, it looks like you are going to bite through your lip if you keep going like that.”

“Yeah. I dunno. I just…” Clarke paused her biting for a moment and looked back at the empty white canvas on her easel. “…nothing is clear. It’s like I see something, it’s there but I just can’t figure it out. Every time I think I’m getting an idea, it vanishes.” Clarke adds a flourish by waving her hands about in frustration.

“Maybe you are over-thinking it, like Mrs Cartwig suggests. Just put your brush in the paint and see what happens?”

“No. That won’t work.” Clarke stated with conviction.

Finn regarded her curiously when she turned back to the canvas. Before she could get lost in her thoughts again, he tried to lure her back.

“Do you think we could talk about our project? It might help get your head out of the clouds.”

Clarke let out a little huff, not in regard to Finn’s suggestion but more-so at her inability to have her thoughts coalesce into something tangible. She placed her brush down and stood up from the very uncomfortable fiberglass stool she was sitting on.

“Sure.”

Finn smiled he could see Clarke was still had one foot through the doorway into that space she reserved for her imagination. She often had that look when she was drawing in her sketch book that she absolutely refused to let him browse. When she walked over to the small table Finn had his pack on, she could see an assortment of small pieces of clay shaped into various blocks and cubes.

“What are these?”

“Ok, bear with me. It’s just an idea right now.”

“Yeah, because I’m in a place to criticize other peoples ideas when I can’t form one of my own.” Clarke sighed.

“You’ll get there. Maybe this will help.” Finn suggested, moving the clay around on the table. “The project is a mixed media assignment, right? 

“Yeah…” Clarke tried to piece together the frantic work his hands as they molded the clay into upper-torso half of a small, nondescript animal. The sight of it made her chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah. Poorly created clay animals aside, can you imagine the table is a canvas?”

“Alright.” She took in a relaxing breath and tried to let him steer her through his vision. 

“What I’m thinking, is that the animals that I could create with the clay could be walking out of a scenic painting made by yours truly. Something like a forest, or a prairie-like setting.”

“Kind of like a living painting.” Clarke suggested, her teeth starting to nibble at her lip once more. The longer she stared at the table, the clearer a vision started to become of what Finn was talking about.

A grove of trees here, a small pond there. Clarke was considering possibilities.

“Exactly like it. I’ll make the animals a lot more detailed, of course, but as long as you live up to your billing, then I think we could easily get an A for the project.”

Clarke nodded, but her head was in the painting. She could see a forest, and the animals as if it were playing out in a movie in her head. She had the glazed over look but instead of her eyes searching for something, her eyes hungrily ate up the table surface with developing ideas.

“There could be grazing animals in distance I could paint.” Clarke suggested, pointing to a spot beside the crude clay figures. “They could appear like they are moving as a herd, or a small family.”

“I like that idea. Anything else?”

“Maybe the animals coming out of the painting could look like they are looking back at the people who are in front of it? Like they know the people are there.”

“I am sure I could give that a try.”

“Maybe the animals coming off the canvas could be overlooking a cliff, or a waterfall.”

“Life in art.” Clarke mumbled, moving the small clay figures around, trying to experiment with scenery in her head.

“Life in art? I like it.”

“What?” Clarke glanced sideways at Finn but quickly went back to rearranging the clay animals.

“The title of our project. ‘Life in art’. ”

“I like it.” Clarke nodded her approval.

“You should. You though of it.”

“I did?” Clarke furrowed her brows trying to remember the words.

“You did.” he grinned.

“Alright class, time to clean your spaces.” Called out Mrs. Cartwig. “Ten minutes left. I’ll see you all on Monday and please submit your final project proposals by next Friday for approval. If you haven’t found a partner for it, see me after class and I’ll pair you with someone else who hasn’t.”

“Do you want to get together this weekend to talk about the project?” Clarke asked, collecting the small clay animals and squishing them down into a lump of clay so it could be put back in the plastic bin on the table. When Finn slightly shook his head, she remembered.

“I have that work thing with my dad. We have to fly out of town Friday night for the dinner and I won’t be back until Sunday. We could stay after class on Monday if that works?”

“Yeah, that will work. Lexa wanted to talk to everyone about something this Saturday so I will probably be pretty busy. I’ll work on a couple sketches this weekend and we can talk about them on Monday?”

“That will be great. Remember, I’ve got the band thing at lunch.” Finn reminded her.

“Yeah. We’ll be eating at the benches outside again. If you get done early, we’ll all be out there. If not, I’ll see you there after school?” Clarke asked, her mind half-focused on the landscape she was trying to imagine for their project on the top of the desk.

“I’ll see you then.”

~*~*~

“So, what do you all think? I can’t speak for the team because my mom has to talk to their school admins as well as ours but they could really use our help.” Lexa asked her friends who sat around their usual spot between the parking lot and athletic field.

As they went around they went around the table, anyone who didn’t have a prior obligation agreed to help out and the conversations quickly went to what they could do to help out. Ideas like donating money, helping set up their venue early and trying to get local businesses involved were floated.

Raven even suggested she might be able to get the radio to put out the word that there is something happening in Tondc Saturday, explaining the station owed her a favour for fixing something that would “take too long to explain right now”. Lexa tried to tell her that they had to wait to hear from Indra but Raven would have none of it, stating she would talk to Indra after lunch and get the matter sorted out.

What caught Lexa’s attention was that neither Lincoln or Octavia had agreed to go to Tondc. They were both locked in a quiet conversation and a little away from the main group. Lincoln had promised her he would go but if it was going to be a problem for the pair, she wouldn't push the issue.

“But our date…” Octavia couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice that their date would be pushed back.

“Can happen right after the auction-raffle thing they plan on doing.” He stated. “I just might have booked a table at a restaurant in Tondc and I’m hoping you’ll let me take you there. We can always duck out early if we want to as well.”

Octavia let out an excited squeak and leaned in to kiss Lincoln on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly. Everyone saw and smiled at the actions of the pair - everyone but Bellamy who cleared his throat rather aggressively, prompting Lexa the opportunity to run interference on their behalf.

“Bellamy, you are your team captain, yes?”

He was still frowning when he turned to look at her, but at least she had his attention.

“Yeah.”

“Do you think you could talk to your coaches and your team to see if the guys would consider joining us in Tondc this Saturday?”

“I can ask but I can’t promise anyone can go.”

“That’s all I ask. I can count on you to go?”

She lost Bellamy’s attention to Octavia and Lincoln who were still pressed up against each other and whispering conspiratorially in the others ears. When Octavia giggled and her cheeks turned crimson, he turned back to Lexa and nodded.

“Absolutely.”

Lexa had to fight the grin that wanted to appear on her face, especially when she looked to Bellamy’s left and she saw the grin on Raven’s face. ‘It’s not like I forced Bellamy to go’ she rationalized to herself.

“Nicely done.” Came Clarke’s whispered voice from over her shoulder, forcing Lexa to try and fight a losing battle with a shiver. “The game of pool and now this, it seems you have him figured out.”

Lexa gave a shrug, but the smile on her face was telling while she watched Clarke take a seat next to her. “Maybe. But we do need all the help we can get for Tondc High. Are you in?”

“Help to do what, exactly?”

Lexa explained the trip to Tondc and what it was for. The raffle, an auction, the financial issues the school faced and her promise she made to do what she could to find willing participants. She also may have suggested that her mother and father were on board and trying to set up some pretty sweet items for the event.

“I’m in.” Clarke didn’t hesitate once Lexa told her. “Wait. Your parents are lifting your grounding?”

“I think they’ll call it a “a temporary delay in my incarceration”.” Lexa lowered her voice to mimic her mother and although not perfect, it was close enough for Raven to suggest she was way too much like her mom with that tone of voice and it startles her. Lexa took it as a compliment even though she knew Raven was teasing.

“That is good. Maybe they’ll see what you are doing and decide to let you go for good behaviour and time served.”

Lexa let out a laugh but shook her head. “You don’t know my mom very well. My dad on the other hand? Maybe. You’ve given me something to think about.”

“Maybe we can get a chance to hang out on Saturday in Tondc? We could make up for not being able to go for a hike this weekend on account of you being a delinquent and starting fights your first week of school.”

It struck Lexa that if Clarke joins her in Tondc, she would miss out on her hike. She felt torn that she would take Clarke away from an outing with her father and insisted Clarke still go.

“It’s ok, Lex. I’ll convince him to go on Sunday. He is home all weekend so I’ll see if he’s fine with the switch when I get home tonight. I think helping those girls and their school is a little more important than walking in the woods.”

“Alright.” Lexa eyes her suspiciously. She still didn’t want to come between her spending time with her father. “But if he can’t, you have to promise me you’ll go hiking Saturday with him.”

It was now Clarke’s turn to return a suspicious eye at Lexa. “Do you always get what you want?”

“Yes.” Lexa affirmed. “Now promise.”

“Fine. I promise to go hiking Saturday if he can’t go Sunday.”

Lexa smirked and crossed her arms in front of herself.

“You don’t have to be so smug about it.” Clarke said, poking Lexa in the side and causing her to yelp, dropping her arms in defense. That’s when Lexa noticed the look in Clarke’s eye.

“Watch this.” Raven whispered to Anya, turning her girlfriend’s head with her fingertips on her chin so she was no looking at the pair.

“No!” Lexa shouted. 

“So the tough girl has a weakness, does she?” Clarke’s grin told Lexa all she needed to know about Clarke’s intentions.

“Clarke. No!”

“I think it’s time someone stood up to you and your ways.”

Lexa started to creep herself away from Clarke putting space between them and lifting her butt from the bench seating.

“Where are you going, Lex?” The tone of Clarke’s calm words sent another shiver through Lexa.

“I’m…”

“Sit back down, Lex.” 

“Not if you’re going to…”

Clarke raised her hands while trying to produce the most innocent, mischief-free look she could generate. She failed miserably.

“I’m not going to do anything. Yet.”

“Yet?” There it was. A sense of impending doom.

“If you try any of that mind-trickery you do to Bellamy on me, you know what I’m capable of. I know your weakness.”

“I think I should go.” Lexa eyes Clarke cautiously.

“You should finish your lunch, Lex.” Clarke suggested, pointing at her half-eaten vegetables in her green Tupperware.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what, Lex?” Clarke asked, doubling down on the innocent act and the very calm voice.

“You know what you are doing.” Lexa answered, cautiously reaching for a slice of celery from her lunch while keeping her eyes on Clarke. 

Every second until the bell to call them to classes was like a quiet torture of ‘will she, won’t she’ for Lexa. It didn’t help Clarke would shift her body quickly on purpose from time to time in order to get a rise out of Lexa and with it, gentle teasing from her friends.

As she collected her things, Clarke had been talking with Murphy about an English paper that was due next week. At least, she thought that was what Clarke was doing. Before she knew it, Clarke was behind her and whispered “Gotcha”, sending Lexa in a panicked sprint toward the school for her study block in the library and yelling “Gotta try harder than that, Griffin!”

“That was mean, Griff.” Anya said between laughs. “Funny, but mean.”

“Just keeping her on her toes.” she winked as she threw her bag over her shoulder and joined the group heading into the school for the afternoon.

~*~*~

The players trying out for the Polis Panther soccer squad all fell to the grass after a number of sprints to close out the final practice of try-outs. Many had the misguided notion Indra would give them an easy day, but that was certainly not the case. Some dropped to their knees and others flat on the ground, gasping for breath. Even those who spend their free time in the mornings running felt an unfamiliar burn in their chest.

“Remind me to never… piss off…. your mom.” Kate wheezed, rolling over so she could see the blue sky above and tilting her head back to get as much air into her lungs as possible.

Lexa laughed, then coughed, then laughed again while trying to get in as much air as possible.

“You should have seen how upset she was when I told her I chatted with you last night after she told me not to chat with my friends. This might be our punishment.”

“You didn’t get in trouble, did you?” Kate rolled her head and looked over to Lexa with concern.

“A little, but it’s ok. I talked to them about helping out at your event on Saturday. My friends too.”

“You know, it’s fine if your friends are busy. I mean, it’s kind of last minute.”

“It might be working out great, actually. I am not supposed to say anything but the coaches spent the day trying to see what they could do to help out. They’ll be talking to us all in a…”

A few sharp whistle blasts and everyone turned to see the coaches standing in a group on the side of the field instructing them all to join them, reminding Lexa to hurry and collect the equipment. To Lexa’s and the coaches surprise, all the girls hustled to gather the equipment and deposited the balls in the net bags, and ran it all to the equipment room. Once they were all on the side-line, Octavia started leading the stretches while the coaches talked.

“As you all know, our team this year will be comprised of Tondc girls and Polis girls. All your coaches here would like to give you our thanks for your effort and determination. All of you have shown tremendous ability and made our job to select this years squad very difficult. Thank you for working so hard and for those girls from Tondc, the dedication to the sport we all know and love.”

The girls from Polis began to clap and were joined by the girls from Tondc, each celebrating the effort they’d put forth knowing that for some of them, this was their last day on the field. Indra chose not to let them dwell on that, resuming her address.

“As we all know, our friends from Tondc are here as guests and there will be some who join our squad for the upcoming season and will become a part of our family, and inviting us a part of theirs. As family, we have an opportunity to help our sisters and brothers in Tondc this Saturday by contributing our time and effort outside the game we share.”

The Tondc girls looked around at each other with a curious look on their faces and it as reflected in most of the Polis players - all but those who spoke with Lexa at lunch.

“This Saturday there is a dinner and auction event happening in Tondc at their high school that starts at four p.m. and I have suggested to their school that as a team, we would be more than happy to offer our help in either able-bodied volunteers in helping them raising funds for their soccer and football teams. Some local businesses have offered to help out and they could really use our help in setting everything up.”

A murmur began to rise between the girls on the grass discussing a possible trip to Tondc and one of the Polis girls raised their hand.

“Yes, Miss Tate?”

“If we can’t make it in person, is there anything else we can do to help?”

“We understand this is short notice and it was only recently brought to our attention which has not given us much time. Anyone who wishes, can make a donation to the school’s athletic program directly and the coaches can give you that information. A donation is not mandatory and your participation will not have a bearing on whether or not a player makes this squad.

The tone Indra used on the emphasis that donations won’t have an impact was very clear. The girls had discovered that over the week of tryouts that Indra was a woman of her word, especially after punishing her own daughter for an altercation.

“Before we let you go, for those who can go or might be able to, please come speak to myself, Mr. Taylor or Mrs. Erin and get a form to take home for your parents to sign. We have arranged transportation and we will be leaving from this school at noon, no later, this Saturday. You can bring the signed waiver with you Saturday and give it to us before you get on the bus. Have a good night girls and we look forward to a great season!”

All the girls cheered and clapped for each other once more and exchanged hugs and complimenting their potential teammates on a tough but fast try-out. It wasn’t that Indra ran a harder practice than the previous ones, more-so that all the girls knew this was their last opportunity to show the coaches how badly they wanted on the team and they all knew each of them would feel this session for the next couple days.

“So, you’re coming to Tondc?” Kate asked, resuming her conversation with Lexa now that Indra had dismissed them all.

“Absolutely! I wouldn’t miss it for anything. I even got my mom to lift my being grounded for Saturday.”

“Kate, C’mon. We have to get back!” shouted a chorus of girls from their bus, among other things.

“Ugh. They won’t give me any time. I gotta go or they won’t quit for the entire ride back.” Kate rolled her eyes and pointed over her shoulder at the bus with her thumb. “Are you coming with your team Saturday or can you come early?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked with anyone about that yet.”

“Well, if you get there early, I’d like to show you around Tondc. I mean, if you want.” Kate started taking a couple slow steps backward but her eyes stayed on Lexa, waiting for her answer. Her friends on the bus has started whopping and she didn’t want it to get out of hand.

“That would be fun. Can I message you later after I talk to someone who is driving there? I think my mom might be.”

“I hope you can. I’ll talk you later, Lex!” Kate smiled and then spun on her toes so she could dart off toward the bus that had emitted the sound of girls laughing and shouting. Before Kate hopped up the steps she turned to wave goodbye and receiving a wave of from Lexa in reply.

“C’mon, Woods. Time for you to hit the showers.” Octavia laughed as she slid up next to her, slinging her arm over Lexa’s shoulder and dragging her in the direction of the locker room. “She’s a nice girl.” she added.

“Yeah, she is.” Lexa said, watching the bus start it’s journey back to Tondc as the pair walked toward the locker room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa have a little fun with each other?! 
> 
> Well, Clarke has fun. Lexa spends her time being wary of her. Can't build a house without some kind of foundation so it doesn't topple, can ya?


	17. A day in Tondc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa arrives in Tondc early, spending the start of the day with Kate who promised to show her around her town until it's time they have to return to the High School where they meet both Raven and Clarke in the afternoon. When they take a break, Lexa finds herself trapped in a mine field of emotions and leaning on Raven to help her navigate through them safety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Update Day, everyone!
> 
> Thanks for taking the chance on this story and for those who are returning, welcome back!
> 
> This one is a fair bit longer than the previous chapters because it turned into a monster on me and I couldn't stop tapping away at my keyboard. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy and I will see you all again soon. :)
> 
> *Warning!*  
> Non-Clexa event incoming!

Indra and Lexa left their house just after Lexa’s shower post-run with Raven, but not before Lexa ran down the stairs and saw her mother and father load up the Jeep with a significant number of well sealed boxes and that were, according to her mother, “to remain that way”.

Their trip to Tondc was a relatively speedy one with the hour on the road flying by as fast as the trees on the roadside. For Lexa, it was in part due to Indra and Gustus’ requirement Lexa to study to and from Tondc as the part of the cost of their lifting her grounding for the day. She only halfheartedly studied and instead she spent a significant amount of her time quizzing Indra about what was in the boxes and about whether or not any and all of her friends made the team. Each time Indra simply said; “You’ll know when everyone else knows.”

They entered Tondc at roughly nine-fifteen that morning, zipping past the “Welcome to the town of Tondc” and taking the first off-ramp into the nearest community. Indra paid close attention to her GPS which was unreliably directing her where to go. Thankfully it was an early Saturday morning and the streets weren’t busy because most people were either still asleep or just waking up to take on the day.

Lexa’s attention turned from studying the houses they drove by to their slowing of the Jeep and Indra turning it into a parking lot. She turned her head to see a black and silver sign with the words; “Tondc High School” and“Since 1948” painted in beautiful calligraphy.

“This is their High School?” Lexa asked as her pulled into the parking lot at Tondc High. She studied the one-story school that had numerous large windows and a bright red-bricked facade. She then took notice of what she assumed was the gym and beside it a field that was once their athletic field, fenced off to prevent people from entering it. Lexa quietly hoped that maybe by the end of tonight they could make enough money to buy the land back.

“It is. You know, it comes to my attention you haven’t told me why you wanted to arrive so much earlier than the rest of the team. I am certain it wasn’t to help me do paperwork.” Indra said as she drove toward the spots closest to the administration office that had cars already parked in a few spaces.

The closer they got, Lexa could see a recognizable figure on the small patch of grass juggling a soccer ball. “I see. You planned on meeting your friend.” Indra stated. “Would you consider this taking advantage or abusing your grounded being lifted for the day.”

“Advantage.” Lexa sheepishly grinned. “Besides, Kate offered to show me around Tondc and I figured it would be good to get to know the people I might be playing with this season. Besides, it’s more productive to have two helpers here earlier than the everyone else, isn’t it?”

“Mhmm.” Indra hummed. “I can’t help but feel this is an abuse of your parent’s generosity but as long as you two are both here early to help set up, then off with your friend you go.” Indra spied her daughter as she turned the nose of her car into a parking spot and shutting it off after putting it in park. “after, you help me get the boxes in to the office, you can join your friend for the morning. I want to see you both back here at noon.”

“Kate has to be here at noon too?” Lexa asked, hoping she didn’t sign up her new friend to extra work.

“If you want to spend the morning with your friend, yes.” Indra answered, opening her door and stepping out to get her day in Tondc underway. “Otherwise I’m sure I can find something else for you to do straight away.”

“We’ll be here at noon!” Lexa quickly agreed before Indra could add anything to their day that resembled work. For a second she watched Kate approach, dribbling the ball skillfully with her feet, weaving it around her legs with her toes and bouncing it up to her knees. Lexa took note of her colourfully coordinated outfit of a pair of blue shorts and a loose-fitting yellow tee which Lexa assumed were really comfortable. She'd arrived at the Jeep and smiled as she was appreciating Lexa's fashion decision as well as they exchanging a short greeting to each other and forgetting Indra was standing there.

"Good morning, Kate." Indra said, breaking the stare down between the two girls. 

“Oh. Um, good morning to you too, Mrs, ummm… coach.” Kate said, not sure if she should call her coach or Mrs. Woods. When she saw Indra open the back hatch and that thew pair were starting to take boxes out of it, she abandoned the ball so she could sprint over and offer her help.

“Are these for tonight?”

“They are.” Indra said.

“What’s in them?”

“You’ll know when everyone else knows.” Lexa heard Indra say the familiar words words but this time she was smiling when she said them.

“Then I shouldn’t ask if I made the team or not?” Kate asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

“Thank you, Kate.” Indra said, handing her one of the boxes from the trunk. “I look forward to seeing your mom here tonight.”

“She’ll be there.”

“I am glad to hear it. I spoke to her on the phone quite a bit over the last couple days. She has been a really big reason all this is able to take place. Now can you show us where the office is so we can drop these off?”

“Sure. This way!” Kate answered, hustling her way over to main entryway to the school. “The office is just inside the main doors to the left.”

They made the first trip with a box each, then Kate and Lexa both volunteered to bring the rest of the boxes inside themselves, Indra reminding them they aren’t to open the boxes either by tearing them open or accidentally dropping them. As they carried the last pair of boxes inside, Kate’s curiosity about them was getting the better of her as much as it was for Lexa.

“Do you know what is inside the boxes?” Kate asked.

“No. My dad dropped them off at the house this morning and said something about having to go in to work and do something at his office. They were taped shut when I helped move them into my mom’s car. They aren’t too heavy, so maybe decorations?”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait until tonight. Don’t suppose you have an inside on who made the team either, do you?”

“Afraid not. My mom said she left all the notes on player performance at the school to make sure my “prying eyes don’t fall where they don’t belong”.” Again, Lexa imitated her mother by dropping her voice.

“It’s creepy you kinda sound like her.” Kate teased. “I have this overwhelming fear I’m going to be told to do some sprints.”

“You aren’t the first person this week to say that.” Lexa laughed.

As if she heard their conversation, Indra stuck her head out of the office doorway and called out to the girls who were nearly at the doors. “I expect you both back here by noon to get started with setting up the gymnasium.” Lexa recognized her mother’s change from mom to coach and she glanced over to Kate to hear her reaction about coming in even earlier.

“Yes, Coach.” They said, both of them standing taller than they were a moment ago. When Indra disappeared back into the office, Kate turned back to Lexa who was pushing open the door for them to leave and followed her through the exit.

“Noon?” Kate asked. “I thought everyone had to be here for one o’clock?”

“Yeah, about that.” Lexa sighed and averted her eyes. “She figured out I was coming here early to hang out with you instead of coming to just help her out in the school.”

“It’s only an hour earlier. No big.” Kate said, shrugging her shoulders.

“It’s alright? You aren’t upset?”

“Nah. We get to hang out and you can meet some of the other girls who tried out for the team. You can be sure some won’t believe you if you say Indra didn’t tell you who is on the team.”

“I am glad I don’t know. That’s a lot of pressure to keep something like that secret. I don’t know if I’ve even made the team.”

“Yeah, like you’ve ever been cut from a team, superstar.” Kate rolled her eyes and laughed, causing Lexa to become embarrassed. “Have you eaten breakfast?”

“I had a shake after my run this morning.”

“How is that even possible? My legs are still so sore from Thursday!” Kate moaned, rubbing her thighs as if to simulate trying to work out a knot in a muscle.

“I do a lot of running and it helps to have Raven run with me. She’s my next door neighbour and we’re a little competitive about it.”

“I can imagine that. She pushed herself really hard at try-outs.”

“She was the first person I met when I moved to Polis. She has made it easy for me since my family moved from Arkadia. That’s how I got to know Octavia and the others you could see sitting at the picnic benches by the parking lot during our try-outs.”

“Well,” Kate said with an exaggerated pause, “I’m sure your shake was nice and all, but it is not a substitute for the best caramel and cinnamon pancakes you’ll ever eat.” After a slight pause, Kate continued, “I have to warn you that I may have told my mom we’d be stopping by her restaurant before I showed you around town. I should have asked you last night when we were chatting but I forgot.”

“That’s ok. The pancakes sound delicious!” Lexa said. It might break her calorie count for the day, but she figured if they lived up to their billing they were worth a try.

They embarked on their fifteen minute walk to the restaurant, Kate offering numerous apologies that she wasn’t able to borrow the car to save them the walk. Lexa didn’t mind because it gave them an opportunity to talk about the upcoming day. When they arrived at the restaurant that her mother managed, they walked through the front door to hear the chime of a small bell hanging beside it.

“Hi, mom.” Kate said over the quiet buzz of conversation that was happening between the restaurant’s customers.

“You two took the scenic route to get here, I see.” replied a woman Lexa assumed was her mother because Kate looked a lot like a younger version of her.

“We helped her mom move some boxes from her car into the office first.” Kate explained, pointing to a small booth near them. “Let’s sit there.”

“Ok.” Lexa said, sliding into the soft cushioned bench seat not far from where Kate’s mother was sitting and working on what appeared to her to be book-keeping.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds before one of the servers were at their table with a couple glasses of water to greet the newcomers.

“Hi, Emily.”

“Hi, Lexa. Nice to meet you. Your mom said you might be stopping by today with a friend. You know we’ve all missed you since school began.” she said, sliding the glasses in front of the pair.

“I’ve miss you guys too.” Kate said, a little disappointment in her words. “School and the trips to Polis take up a lot of time. If I make the team, I’ll probably have even less.”

“We’ll forgive you as long as you remember to come by like you promised.” Emily reminded her.

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Kate said through a smile. “As promised!”

“It’s alright Emily, I’ll take care of these two.”

Emily said goodbye to both Kate and Lexa as her mother arrived, leaving her to wait on her daughter and her friend but not before reminding her not to be a stranger.

“So this must be the famous Lexa that my Katie is always going on about? It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m her mother, Jules.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Kate’s eyes widened at her mom and she shook her head in embarrassment as a warning to stop. Unfortunately, that just seemed to spur on her mother.

“I’m just glad to meet the girl who managed to get my daughter up and out of the house before noon on a Saturday. And to convince her to do physical labour none the less? The least I can do is offer you some breakfast.”

“Mom.” Kate groaned, hiding her face in her hands until the redness that forced itself on her cheeks started to dissipate.

“Alright. Alright.” Jules laughed, throwing a wink in Lexa’s direction which caused Lexa to have to fight back a chuckle. “Am I correct in assuming she sold you on pancakes before you got here?”

Lexa nodded and gave her knowing smile. “Caramel and cinnamon?”

“That is the one. Seeing as you have this magical power and have already been a positive influence on my daughter, think you could convince her to start eating healthier breakfasts like the fruit plate?”

Lexa looked at Kate who was now peeking back at her through a pair of opened fingers. Lexa thought about teasing her but instead took pity on her. In truth, if Lexa was choosing her own breakfast it would have been her choice. But for today? Pancakes would do just fine.

“It looks like it is caramel-cinnamon pancakes for us both.” Lexa said, smiling at Kate who was watching on in embarrassment.

Kate pulled her hands away from her face and looked up at her mother with a victorious grin.

“I can see she’s gotten to you. I had such high hopes, Lexa.” Emily shook her head with mock disappointment.

“And two chocolate milks.” Kate added, leaning back into the cushion behind her.

“Could I get an orange juice instead?” Lexa asked, but her questioning eyes were on Kate rather than her mother who threw the grin back at her daughter.

“One chocolate milk and one orange juice? The hope returns!” Emily teased then made her way over to the large window behind the counter to put their order up.

“Your mom seems nice.” Lexa suggested, then taking a sip of the water in front of her then placing the glass back down. “You come here a lot?”

“She’s great when she doesn’t have an opportunity to embarrass her only daughter.” Kate emphasized her last two words so her mother could hear.

“I’ll be sure to talk to her at the school tonight if that’s the case.”

“You’d do that to me?” Kate feigned being hurt.

“That all depends on the pancakes.” Lexa shrugged, while only barely being able to suppress her smile.

“Then I’m safe. These are the best pancakes you’ll ever have in your life.”

Jules slid the drinks on the table and told the duo that their pancakes would be out shorty. When she didn’t walk away immediately, Kate looked up at her curiously.

“I’m going to be busy until I have to head over to the school later this afternoon. You two won’t have a problem making it over there early to help set things up?”

“We’re heading over there for noon to meet Lexa’s mom after I show her around.”

“Alright. I have to get back to work but you two have fun today. Lexa, it was nice to meet you and I look forward to meeting your mother and father later tonight as well. Say hello to them for me.”

“I will. Thank you ma’am.” Lexa said, watching Kate’s mother head back to her seat at her table.

She took a sip of her orange juice then turned back to look at Kate.

“So what’s the plan for today?

“Won’t say.”

“So I have to trust you?”

“Yep.” Kate said, popping the “p” and steadfastly refusing to elaborate further.

Lexa’s attention went from Kate’s grin to Emily who suddenly appeared next to them. She placed two plates of pancakes stacked higher than she’d ever seen before and Kate could barely contain herself, eagerly reaching for her knife and fork.

Both stacks had golden caramel dripping over the sides, trickling down on to the lower cakes then on to the plate while butter melted on top in order to fuse the flavours together. There was even a small and quickly melting splash of whipped cream fusing into the medley of butter and caramel leaving Lexa in awe. Kate watched Lexa’s appraisal of the dish and laughed.

“Don’t worry. With what I’ve got planned, we’ll work it off this morning along with the work we have to do at the school. Now dig in!” Kate ordered, taking her own knife and fork and stabbing and cutting the top of her stack, making sure she got a little of everything on the piece she was about to eat.

After seeing what could only be described as pure euphoria on Kate’s face, moaning with every bite of her pancake, Lexa did as commanded thinking, ‘It couldn’t be that good, could it?’

~*~*~

“C’mon Rae. Get in the car!” Clarke yelled through the open passenger window of her parent’s car when she saw her friends front door crack open. “We have to get going or we’ll be late!”

Raven walked out her front door with a smirk and a single-finger salute to her blonde friend. A moment later, Anya stepped through the doorway and gave a wave of hello to Clarke.

“Thanks for giving her a ride, Clarke!” Anya shouted. She had another scheduled class to teach which meant she wouldn’t be able to make it to Tondc until the end of the event so Raven insisted she will come straight home afterward and meet her at her house again.

“I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble, Ahn.” Clarke said. “First she has to get in the car!” To add emphasis she hit the horn a couple times. “Lexa’s mom will kick your ass if you’re late!”

“I’ll see you when I get back?” Raven asked, realizing Clarke was right but not about Indra kicking just her ass. She’d likely punish everyone on the team. She could have gone with Lexa and Indra this morning but Anya refused to let her go in case she got any “bright ideas”.

“I’ll be here, just don’t take too long or I’ll fall asleep.”

“And then be cranky when I wake you up to say goodnight.” Raven teased.

“I’m never cranky. Now go or Indra will torture you and everyone else who has made the team with sprints.”

Anya leaned in to give Raven a kiss to which she happily offered one of her own. “And be good!”

“I’m always good.” Raven smiled innocently. “Bye babe! See you tonight,”

Raven leaned over and picked up a backpack that appeared rather heavy and trotted it over to Clarke’s car where she tapped the trunk, signaling for Clarke to open it up. She pressed the button to pop it open and she swore the front of the car lifted a couple inches with the weight of whatever it was Raven placed in there.

Raven jogged up to the passenger side and climbed in through the open window, ignoring Clarke’s protest that she should open the door like a normal person to get in the car rather than her climbing all over her parent’s seats.

“The seats are fine, Clarke. Now, let’s get some music playing for the ride.” Raven suggested, leaning forward and tapping the console to flip through the local stations.

“If you get it now, I get it on the way home.” Clarke bargained.

“Deal. Now let’s roll!” Raven tapped the dash in front of her with her fingers like it was a drum. She continued the drumming until they were close to the edge of Polis only to stop suddenly and shout, “Wait! We need snacks for the road trip. We need to hit a gas station, Griff!”

“It’s only an hour away and I just ate lunch.”

“Clarke, there is an age old tradition well before the invention of cars. Way back when people used to travel by horse and buggy that you brought food in case anything happened and you were stuck in the wilderness between towns and villages.”

“We’ll be on an interstate road with loads of cars driving on it all the time. If anything happens someone will be along to give us a hand. If that doesn’t work, we have cellphones. Those magical devices that allow us to call for help?”

“What if there’s a zombie apocalypse? Then what do we do when the grid goes down and there is no power. No way to get home and reunite with our loved ones and it’s just us, Clarke?”

“Really, Rae? Zombie apocalypse? That’s what you are going with?” Clarke couldn’t roll her eyes any further into the back of her head.

“Worst case scenario, but yes. Zombie apocalypse, Clarke.” Raven said with conviction.

“You need less Walking Dead in your life, but I’m sure if there ever was one, you are the one I’d want around.”

“You could bet your life on it.” Raven grinned. “Now. Take me to the snacks!”

They neared the city limits of Polis and a tall sign caught her eye informing them that there was a gas station ahead. With Raven’s insistence, she pulled off the road and into the advertised gas station so Raven could run inside. Before she got out she turned to Clarke and said, “You’ll thank me if this saves our lives.”

“Whatever. Just make sure you get me some gum and something to drink!”

After exiting the gas station convenience store with a bag full of snacks and another with drinks, Clarke laughed seeing her slide into the passenger seat with the overflowing bags of goodies. Clarke started the car and once again they were on their way to Tondc.

“Crisis averted?” Clarke laughed, taking a sip from a bottle of iced tea from Raven that she had opened for her as they sped toward their destination.

“I think we’re good. We might survive this.”

Clarke and Raven both fell into hysterics, laughing and enjoying what was looking to become a fun trip. They’d been driving for about twenty minutes, or five very loud songs when Raven decided to turn down the radio to a manageable level for conversation to occur. She turned to Clarke and watched her attentive eyes taking in everything on the roadway before them.

“Lexa said this morning that you guys were supposed to go hiking with your dad today?”

“Yeah. We were supposed to but he had to go in to work. Something about a mechanism being blah, blah, blah.” Clarke wiggled her head side-to-side emphasizing how much she didn’t care about the jargon.

“Maybe we could all go next weekend. Let’s try to get everyone to agree on Monday and I’ll try to get Anya to take a Saturday off from her classes. Lexa won’t be grounded unless she finds some other girl to punch in the face.”

“She was kind of fiery the first night I got to meet her and she doesn’t seem like someone who puts up with a lot of disrespect.”

“Not when it comes to people who treat her or anyone she knows like crap. She handled Bellamy perfectly by playing on his ego and competitiveness.”

“What I hear from Anya is that you two have a fairly healthy competition when you run together in the morning. I know you didn’t have a chance when you ran with Wells.”

“Don’t even get me started about Wells. I’m fairly certain he was taking some sort of performance enhancers. That or he’s part robot. The same kind of robot parts Lexa seems to be made of.”

“You are telling me Lexa is better at running than the great Raven Reyes?” Clarke took a moment to look over at Raven with a shocked look on her face.

“As if! Eyes on the road, Griffin.” She pointed to the interstate ahead of them.

They talked about the upcoming school year, the pamphlets on the table that Raven discovered when she came over to Clarke’s house to study and many other topics which were entwined with them singing various songs coming on the radio. Clarke suggested they sync their playlists to the stereo but Raven denied her request citing tradition as she did when they left Polis’ city limits.

Unlike Lexa’s arrival with Indra to Tondc, at this time of day the roads were packed with cars. Clarke had Raven punch in the address of Tondc High into the GPS and after similar and numerous “turn left” and “turn right” notifications by the robotic feminine voice, they finally arrived and pulled into a parking lot that was surprisingly empty.

“I text Lexa and let her know we were arriving.” Raven said, hopping out of the car after they’d parked. “She said she’d meet us at the front doors.”

Right on cue, the front doors of the high school swung open and Lexa appeared, noticing her approaching friends and offering them a wave in greeting.

“Hi, guys!” she shouted.

Clarke and Raven strode over to the doors and they exchanged quick hugs in greeting and then Lexa ushered them into the school and pulling the door closed behind them.

“They’ve decided to keep the doors locked until tonight.” she explained, leading them toward the gymnasium to help set things up.

“So how’s freedom feeling, Woods?” Raven asked.

“A lot like work, but worth it if you ask me. I’m glad you both could make it. There isn’t a ton of stuff to do but my mom will no doubt find anything and everything for us to do.”

“That’s why we’re here.” Clarke suggested. “Have the others arrived yet?”

“Not yet. My mom said they had an issue with the bus and that they might be here a little later than they planned. The Tondc volunteers will probably be here a little later as well. We have gotten a lot done already.”

They walked through the doors of the gymnasium and could see a number of tables already set up around the large space but not much else had been done. There were also chairs stacked high in front of the stage which both Clarke and Raven assumed had to be put around the tables.

“Kate and I swept up the gym and put all the tables around the room like they wanted.” Lexa said, hopping up so she could sit on one of the tables. “We still have to do that and get the podium and table set up to display the things being auctioned.”

“Speaking of Kate, I don’t see her here.” Clarke said, looking around the room and curious to get to know the girl who always seemed to accompany Lexa’s name in conversation over the last few days.

“She went to go grab some drinks from the teachers lounge. We were both going to go but I had to stay back to let you in the school.”

“You came early this morning with your mom to meet up with her, didn’t you?” Raven asked, looking up at the numerous championship banners that hung from the rafters. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the legacy of the school slowly fading away and she hoped that what they were doing today could have a significant impact on rebuilding it.

“She’s pretty awesome. She showed me around Tondc this morning and I got to meet some of the other girls who came for try-outs. We went to some trampoline building where you could bounce from one trampoline to another. If there is one in Polis, we should all go to it.”

“I think there is one. We could check it out.” Raven suggested.

“Oh, did you know they have go-carts here? When we met up with some of the other girls, they teamed up to beat me then made me promise I’d get you guys to come back with me some time and we could have a Tondc versus Polis race.”

“We didn’t need to team up. I beat you fair and square, Lex. When we win that race, all the Polis players will have to wash all our game uniforms.” Kate said, walking confidently into the room with four bottles of Gatorade in her arms.

“If you race a cart as clumsily as you elastico, it’ll be a piece of cake!” Raven grinned, accepting one of the bottles from Kate as well was the challenge of a race.

“I’ll have you know I’ve been getting advice from the best.” She nodded her head toward Lexa. “You wait and see when we win our first game.”

“Lexa’s been showing you some moves, has she?” Raven laughed, “I guess if we’re on the same team there’s no harm in it.”

Lexa didn’t make a sound as she looked back and forth between Raven and Kate enjoying their competitiveness. She was certain they would become good friends if they had the chance.

“So what are we up to in here?” Clarke asked, changing to topic from soccer. As much as she supported her friends playing the sport, she knew that once they started in on each other they’d start getting competitive and then she’d get pulled into it. More often than not it wound up with her being dragged into some dreaded physical competition that inevitably ensue.

Thankfully, Kate took over and explained the vision for the gym. She explained there needed to be paths to and from the stage for people who win prizes at the auction to collect and carry them away.

They also were to set up long tables instead of round ones along a wall in order to set up a buffet-style dinner for people who were in attendance if they were hungry. It was a new addition to the event thanks to a local catering company who volunteered to provide light snacks for the evening. That and to make sure the table cloths were on each of the tables before guests started to arrive thanks to the addition of the food being provided.

“That’s it?” Raven asked.

“ One more thing” Kate realized.

“We need to set up a few soccer games for prizes that kids can win next door on the field. Nothing crazy, just something like kicking a ball through a hoop or maybe a pylon drill or something so small kids can stay occupied while their parents are in here. Apparently a local radio station here in Tondc and one in Polis are donating small prizes that kids can win for playing the games.”

“Speaking of radio stations, I could set up music in here.” Raven suggested.

“The system in here hasn’t worked for a long time. Our gym teacher is a former drill Sargent so he just yells at students to be heard. Other times we just use a mobile system in the office when we have any sort of function in here. It doesn’t play music.

“What gym doesn’t have a sound system that plays music?” Raven muttered and scrunched her nose and had a look around and in the rafters at the speaker system that hung from above. “Can we get the custodian to shut the power off in here for a little while while I fix it?”

“What?” Kate asked in confusion. “You can’t fix the stereo system. It’s broken.”

Clarke chuckled and nudged Lexa in the ribs with her elbow, eliciting a yelp and a frown from her. She’d forgotten about poking Lexa’s side and the reaction it can draw. She leaned over and whispered into Lexa’s ear.

“Sorry, but you have to watch. If anyone tells Raven she can’t do something with electronics or that she can’t building anything, she’ll get so upset she’ll figure out how to fix it out of spite. Just watch.”

Clarke stepped forward and made her declaration.

“I don’t think you could do it. If Kate says it’s broken, it’s broken. Just because you say you can fix it, doesn’t make it magically possible.”

“You doubt me, Griffin?”

“To fix this? Yeah. It’s broken. She said so.” Clarke pointed at Kate who was now beside Lexa watching the show.

“Wanna bet?” Raven asked as she scanned the ceiling and the wires that hung loosely from the speakers and wound themselves through the rafters.

“How much?”

“Ten bucks.”

“Ten? You don’t sound too confident.” Clarke suggested, drawing a glare from Raven.

“Twenty, then.” Raven made her bet.

“Twenty it is. But you have to have it done before four o’clock. Not a minute later.” Clarke drew her line in the proverbial sand.

“If I get it done in under two hours, you owe me fourty.”

“Twenty and I’ll buy you two lunches at school next week.”

“It’s a bet.” Raven declared, extending her hand to Clarke who happily reached forward and shook it.”

“Where is someone who can shut the power off in here for a little while?” Raven turned and asked Kate who was more than a little confused as to what was going on so she had to think about it for a second.

“Ummm… the custodian? He’s in the room near the middle of the hallway. It’s right next to the boiler room.”

“Good. I’ll leave you guys to the tables and the games. I’ve got to go get my tools. Griff, keys.” Raven said, holding out her hand so Clarke could hand her the set of keys to get in the car.

“She has her own tools?” Kate asked, looking back and forth between Lexa and Clarke.

“I’m pretty sure with what she put in my trunk this morning, she could rebuild the entire school. Raven won’t leave town without bringing a bunch of tools with her as a ‘just in case’.”

“You know, this has turned into a really big deal.” Kate said. “We were only expecting family from the team and maybe some locals to bid on some crappy prizes. When I was in the office, I heard that there was a radio commercial playing in both Tondc and Polis for people to come here today?”

“That was her doing.” Clarke pointed at Raven who usually would take immediate credit but was currently hustling out of the gym due to the time crunch on her wager.

“Well, all I know is Coach Woods and the people in the office seem quite excited about how things are going. I tried to see what they were talking about but they kicked me out when they saw me standing at the door. I think there is some really big secret they are keeping to themselves until tonight.”

Clarke and Kate both looked at Lexa as if she knew what the big secret was and she shrunk under the scrutiny.

“I don’t know anything! I swear!” Lexa placed her hand over her heart to pledge it was the truth.

Kate knew it to be the case because she’d pestered Lexa all morning and it got even worse when they met up with the other girls who were trying out for the Panther squad, having to come to her aid when she was bombarded at go-carts. Either she knew nothing or she was that good at keeping secrets.

They decided to work together in setting up the chairs around the tables and were surprised that the clock was showing three o’clock by the time they’d managed to set up the gym before the group from Polis arrived to lend a helping hand.

True to her word, Raven enlisted the help of the school custodian to shut the power off in the gym and set up a ladder in order to reach the speakers that hung from the rafters and repair “the absolute mess that someone made of a perfectly good sound system”.

Shortly after three o’clock, Indra walked into the gym with the school administrators to see how the girls had progressed in their tasks and were all pleased to see the room prepared precisely to their requirements. There were even candle holders on each of the tables which were an added touch. They all wondered in conversation where the kids had managed to find the black and silver candles to match the school colours.

What next caught their attention was Raven standing on top of a twelve-foot ladder while holding a multi-bit screwdriver in her mouth and stripping wires with her free hands to reveal the shiny copper wire beneath the plastic muttering all the while that “people need to take better care of their electronics”.

They then looked at the custodian below who was holding the ladder who shrugged. “She said she could get it working. I’ve been making sure she isn’t in any danger. The power is off to this section of the building as well just to make sure.”

“Just. One. Second.” Raven grunted. “Almost. Got. It.” She twisted the speaker wire into place and screwed the post down to hold it in place. She then spoke to the man at the bottom of the ladder who had jokingly referred to himself as her assistant, “Ok. It should be good. Give’er some juice, Landry!”

When she got down to the bottom of the Ladder and her eyes widened in surprise to see Indra standing there with her arms crossed and a frown as big as she’d ever seen on a person. All Raven could do at this point was hope that she won’t end up starting a fire. That would be the last thing they need.

“Is it good, Landry?” The Tondc principal asked.

“Looks fine to me. Don’t ask her, though or she’ll spend the next thirty minutes explaining the finer details of electrical conductivity.” he grinned at Raven.

Only after he had Raven briefly explain what she did to the system, did the principal give permission to turn it back on, suggesting Landry stay near the fuse box in the gym “just in case”.

Landry gave the ‘thumbs up’ that the power was on and Raven paused a second to take a deep breath and closed her eyes as she plugged the microphone into the panel on the stage floor. Feedback rang through the speakers for a second and when Raven dropped the cord in her hand to the ground it disappeared, replaced by the sound through the speakers of Raven’s voice saying, “Test. Test.”

Raven’s eyes lit up with excitement she’d actually managed to fix it. Of course, if you ask her, it wasn’t a big deal. Before she realized she still held the mic in front of her, she said ”Oh hell yes I did! Griffin, you owe me twenty bucks!”

Lexa , Clarke and Kate all let out cheers at Raven’s success, and even the adults in the room seemed impressed.

“Nicely done, Miss Reyes.” Indra said.

“Thanks Miss Woods.” Raven couldn’t help but absolutely glow at her accomplishment.

“But the next time you get an idea to re-wire a sound system in another school, or any school for that matter, I suggest you get office permission before trying.”

“Yes. Mrs. Woods.” Raven said, tempering her excitement while she hopped down from the stage and flipping the power switch on the mic to it’s ‘off’ setting so it was no longer powered. She then handed it to the Tondc principal.

“Thank you, Miss Reyes. You’ve been a great help.” said the principal.

“No problem. Oh! the RCA connection to hook up a stereo system works as well. I tested it with my Ipod and if you want to play music, it is good to go.” Raven said with a smile as she walked past them and toward Lexa, Clarke and Kate.

“What did you do?” Kate asked, shocked Raven got it fixed.

“The hardest part was soldering some fuses. I didn’t have any in my bag to replace what was broken so I had to use what was already there. It might not work forever but it’ll work for a little while. Now I think someone owes me twenty bucks?”

Clarke dug into her pocket and fished out a twenty, handing it over to a smug looking Raven. “Yeah, yeah. Good job.”

With the gym finished being set up by the four girls, Indra and the two Tondc administrators all agreed that the girls deserved a break and that the games outside could be set up after the arrival of volunteers from both Polis and Tondc. With their new-found freedom of a little over an hour, Kate suggested they go to a local ice cream shop. It didn’t take much convincing because they all hustled from the gym before Indra or the other two Tondc administrators could find them something else to do if they were just standing around.

After they spent some time debating the finer points of each available flavour of ice cream in the freezers behind long panes of glass and what likely felt like an eternity to the boy who patiently waited behind the counter, they finally made their selections.

Raven chose cookie dough because “It was the best of both dessert worlds”, while Clarke went with her tried-and-true favourite of chocolate chip and mint. Lexa on the other hand wasn’t really interested in having any more sugar today and said something to that effect but but relented to Kate’s insistence she let her choose Lexa’s flavour for her but only if she could be allowed to pick hers to which she happily agreed.

The girls spent the next hour sitting on a couple benches and talking about where they were from, their various teachers and what they were all expecting with the upcoming school year. As they talked, Lexa listened contently to Kate talking about Tondc and what she hoped her year would be like, and that she hoped to visit Polis as much as possible. They all agreed that would be fun and Lexa suggested she could return the favour from today and show Kate around Polis.

“I really do thank you guys for coming here and helping. It means a lot to everyone, not just the girls who go to Polis for try-outs. I haven’t seen people excited about a lot lately and this will help everyone.”

“That’s what we do for our friends.” Clarke insisted.

“Even if I don’t make the team, it’d be great to stay in touch with you all. Lexa has said a lot of great things about you.”

“Yeah, like you’re not making the team.” Raven rejected the notion. “I’ll threaten to quit the team if you aren’t on it.”

“Well, I hope I make it.” Kate said, a little unsure of the possibility. She knew there were a lot of talented girls who were in tryouts and she didn’t think she was as good as half of them. It wasn’t until the second day that she found her reason for really wanting to be on the team.

“Hey, you are a great player. My mom would be insane if she didn’t select you for the team.” Lexa stated with conviction, resulting with a soft smile from Kate.

“Thanks.” Kate said, leaning over to Lexa so she could press her shoulder into hers, then let her head come to rest on Lexa’s shoulders. At first she didn’t thin much of it, but the longer Kate’s head rested on her shoulder, the more she focused on the contact and that she was enjoying it.

Both Clarke and Raven silently watched the duo who from their arrival in Tondc always seemed attached at the hip, aside from getting drinks from the teachers lounge when they first arrived. Although this was not unexpected for Raven who had an idea that Kate’s invitation to Lexa to come to Tondc early was about more than just hanging out, Clarke didn’t know there might be something more between the two.

Lexa on the other hand looked down at Kate who still had the small smile on her face while she finishing the last of her ice cream. She was trying to decipher what was going on in her head versus her slowly speeding up heart and when Kate tilted her head so she could look up at her, Lexa started to feel a nervousness that started as small seed had begun to bloom within her, hearing Octavia's declaration about Kate's feelings for her over and over in her head. 

Kate’s touch had somehow managed to short-circuit her usually calm demeanor, making her ability to breathe properly difficult or let her keep her ever-increasing heart rate under control. Lexa managed a smile back at her in an attempt to try and deflect any outward nervousness then lifted what remained of her ice cream to her lips as a distraction. She was certain she was starting to freak out and she didn’t know what to do because every word she thought of saying vanished before it could reach her mouth.

She concentrated on the soft touch of Kate's hair that fell against her neck and leading to goosebumps covering her skin all the while her sense of smell inhaled the intoxicatingly-sweet smell of what Lexa realized was her lilac scented shampoo. Somehow in the maelstrom of her feelings, it seemed to calm her down so she took a couple deep breaths in an attempt to fortify herself. Unfortunately it was short lived because the calming feeling vanished when Kate adjusted her head into a more comfortable position, requiring her to nuzzle herself deeper into Lexa's neck and creating even more contact between the pair. Now the only thing that occupied her ever-increasing nervous mind was the way Kate's hair tickled her neck.

Raven watched the pair and she could see the look that started to take over Lexa’s face along with her increasingly rigid posture. Deciding to do something to save her friend, she stood up from her seat on the bench next to Clarke and said with a little more enthusiasm than required to steal the moment. “C’mon guys, we should get back. It’s almost four o’clock and I don’t want to be running sprints if Lexa’s mom decides to go ‘coach-mode’ on us.”

Kate was doing a better job of hearing Raven’s words and let out a sad sigh when she pulled herself away from Lexa. Lexa watched her reach down and take her hand in an effort to help her rise from the bench but she wound up only staring at Kate’s hand in her own and thinking about the little electric shocks she could feel with the contact. The only problem was they only helped in causing her heart to race and her breaths to deepen.

“We’re heading back to the gym.” Clarke said, pointing to the clock on the wall that showed 3:50 in the afternoon. They only had teen minutes to get back.

“Oh. Ok. I, need to, the washroom. I’ll catch up.” Lexa stammered, letting go of Kate’s hand and turning in the direction of the ice cream shop but on her way past Raven, Lexa’s breath shook and she clumsily brushed against her drawing a concerned look from everyone, especially Kate who looked as though she believed she had done something wrong.

“Lex?” Kate asked nervously.

“It’s ok. I need to go as well so you two go on ahead and we’ll catch up.” Raven said, turning and heading off into the shop behind Lexa and leaving Kate and Clarke outside the shop wondering what just happened.

“Should we wait?” Kate asked Clarke, who was looking back toward the ice cream shop.

“We should probably get back. Lexa just probably had too much sugar. She is a super healthy eater so she just might be in sugar-shock.” Clarke knew it was a horrible excuse, but it was all she could think about. Clarke couldn’t help but feel bad for Kate who moments ago seemed to be in high spirits but was now at

“Uh, ok. I guess…” Kate stammered as she turned around and walked alongside Clarke toward her High School.

Clarke suggested they could cover for Raven and Lexa if there were going to be late which Kate agreed to, but she seemed distracted as if considering something. As they walked along, Kate took advantage of being alone with one of Lexa’s friends.

“I know we just met, but do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Sure.” Clarke said, trying to help Kate through whatever she was trying to work her way through on their trip back to Tondc High.

“Do you think Lexa likes me?”

~*~*~

“Lexa!”” Raven chased after Lexa, moving her feet in wide strides to be able to catch up to her friend who vanished from sight and into into the store’s bathroom.

Raven shoved the door open and saw Lexa leaning over a sink, her arms holding the porcelain sides and staring downward into the basin and her chest heaving up and down rapidly with quick gasps of air. She ran over to Lexa, putting her hand on her back and became aware of Lexa’s rapid heart rate.

“It’s _ok,_ Lexa. Just breathe. It’s _ok_.” Raven said calmly, rubbing her hand in small circles on her back. “Focus on your breathing. In and out, steady breaths, just like when we run. In, and out. Good girl.”

She kept her hand moving in slow but steady circles, her eyes filled with concern with what just happened and trying to understand what caused the sudden change in her friend. She kept encouraging Lexa to calm herself by focusing on her breathing to bring her back. Lexa stood straight up and she had tears streaking down her face.

“I’m a freak.” Lexa groaned, accepting the paper tissue Raven offered her.

“You are not a freak, Lexa. What could ever make you think that?”

“I don’t know. I just, she was there and then her head and she was - I didn’t know what to do. My chest, and I was just staring. now I’m in here!” Lexa’s words were frantic and unclear.

“Lexa, look at me.”

Lexa lifted her head slowly and tears had formed in her eyes that weren’t able to to be held back and there were streaks that went from her eyelids and straight down her cheeks. Raven could see her pleading for understanding through her eyes but she saw her friend shake her head.

“Look at _me._ ”

Lexa turned so that she was facing Raven and she was quickly pulled into a hug, Raven’t arms enveloping her and sheltering her from feeling alone. Lexa reflexively lifted her arms and wrapped hers around Raven, letting her tears flow again.

“I don’t want her to think I’m a freak.” she said with her face muffled in Raven’s shoulder.

“Nobody will ever think you are a freak.” Raven whispered. “That is impossible, I promise.

Raven let Lexa cry out the tears and was very grateful that nobody entered the bathroom which allowed Lexa to get everything out she needed to. She didn’t care how long they stood there or how angry Indra might get, she would stand there with her friend as long as it took.

Thankfully, it was just after a few minutes, Raven felt Lexa loosen her grip so she followed her lead, letting Lexa take control. Once Lexa let go of her iron-clad hug and took a step back she offered Raven a weak smile as a thank you, receiving the same and a slight nod from her friend.

“We should get back to the school.” Lexa suggested, turning to the mirror and dabbing her eyes with the tissue she had balled up in her hand.

“We are not going anywhere near there right now.” Raven declared.

“But…”

“We’re not going there until we talk about what just happened. My only concession is that we’re not doing it in this smelly washroom.” Raven said, wincing at the state of the room.

Lexa glanced around the room and could see it was a disaster. Even the sink wasn’t very clean now that she was looking at the state of the room. She nodded her agreement and Raven put her arm around Lexa’s waist and pulled her in to her side and led her from the bathroom and out of the shop.

“There’s a park with some benches on the way back to the school and we can go there.” Raven explained.

Lexa simply nodded once more, letting Raven lead her to the destination without uttering another word. Raven led her through the store and the curious gazes from the people in shop who wondered what was happening. It didn’t take very long and before she knew it, Raven led her to a relatively secluded spot near some bushes that looked like it might give some privacy. At first, neither of them said anything and Lexa couldn’t bring her eyes up from the ground.

“You two would make a cute couple.” Raven said, breaking the ice.

“We aren’t a couple.”

“I’m going to step out on what I think is a very solid limb and say you would like to be or are at least have considered it?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I like her. I like being around her.” Lexa admitted.

Raven turned to make sure she was facing Lexa as best she could. “Let’s start at step one. Do you want her to like you?”

Lexa nodded her head.

“Well, I have good news. She _really_ likes you.” Raven smiled.

“How can you tell? I mean, how do I tell she likes me?”

“Well, the first being she is the only played from Tondc to interact in a friendly manner with any of the girls from Polis. Second, she helped you with your punishment in gathering the equipment after practice even if results in all her friends on the bus are yelling at her to get on the bus so they can get home.”

Lexa could feel a warmth replace some of the nervousness that was wracking her body that the possibility Kate stayed late at try-outs was to spend some extra time with her led to a slight smile breaking through to the surface. Raven could see the small change so she continued.

“Third, she invited you to Tondc to just ‘hang out’ with her and her friends today.”

“Friends hang out.” Lexa suggested.

“They do, but give me a run-down on what you two did today.” Raven asked.

“First we went to breakfast at her mom’s restaurant and had breakfast.”

“Keep going.” Raven urged.

“Then we went over to another park she said she spends a lot of time at when the weather is nice and we kicked the ball around for a while until we decided to sit and talk about stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Things like our hobbies. What we think high school will be like, when I get my license. Things like that.”

“Alright. But did you guys talk about more personal?”

“She told me about her family. That her dad passed away and it was just her and her mom, and that over the summer she worked in the restaurant.”

 

“Then?”

“We went to the strip mall and met a few of the girls from try-outs who wanted to meet me. We hung out there for a while and they kept trying to get me to tell them who was on the team. Then we went to the go-carts and hung out while we had a small lunch.”

“Mhmmm.” Raven hummed, her finger tapping her chin to emphasize she was deep in thought.

“What does “Mhmmm” mean?”

“Well, if you think about all of that, and then add the fact you picked her the most god-awful ice cream flavour ever made and she ate it without a second of arguing? That girl is over the moon about you.”

“What? How?” Lexa asked with surprise at Raven’s revelation.

“Well, she invited you to breakfast which conveniently gave her the opportunity to meet her mom. Did her mom say anything about looking forward to meeting you?”

“Maybe.” Lexa could recall Jules having mentioned something to that end.

“So, she brought you to meet her mom and there is proof she talks about you to other people. She had you meet her friends who don’t give the time of day to any other Polis players trying out, but because you are here with Kate, thy want to know you?”

“But we could be teammates and..”

“Ah. Ah.” Raven waved her finger at Lexa to stop talking. “Listen.”

“Kate risks them getting mad at her for staying late to spend time with you after practice, yet they now want to meet you? Add in the question of her asking you if you had a license? My guess is she wonders if you can come to Tondc from time to time to spend more time with her.”

Lexa leaned back into the bench and tried to sort ot what Raven was talking about, and her argument. Raven simply sat there and waited for Lexa to try to deflect the possibility Kate liked her but after roughly five minutes of silence, Lexa’s eyes opened wide in a hopeful realization.

“So.. she likes me?”

“That is pretty much guaranteed if the way she was staring at you while we ate our ice cream was any indication.” Raven smiled. “And when she put her head on your shoulder? God, what I would have given to have been able to get a picture of that.”

Lexa’s cheeks blushed and she nervously chuckled.

“Lexa, can you tell me something?”

“Sure.”

“Is this the first person who has made you feel this way?”

Lexa looked shocked by the question and kind of puled back slightly, but she didn’t deny it.

“I…” Lexa stammered. “I don’t know?”

Raven threw her a sympathetic smile and motioned for Lexa to lean forward and when she did she hugged her briefly to comfort her.

“But Look at Lincoln and Octavia. You and Anya. Even Clarke likes someone now.”

“It’s not a competition, Lex. You shouldn’t be with someone just to ‘be with someone‘. If you like Kate and she likes you, then you should talk to her about it.”

“But you guys all just seem to fit like you’ve been together forever. It was easy when I thought Kate were just friends but when I thought about her that way, like you and Anya, I freaked out. What if I freak out again?”

Lexa looked like her nervousness was going to take over once more so Raven quickly waved her hands around and started to laugh.

“Oh, you think you are nervous?”

“Yeah.”

“You have to promise me what I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave the two of us. It’s privileged information. If this story is shared with anyone, anyone at all, I’ll make sure you go boom. Got it?”

Lexa nodded her understanding.

“Say the words.” Raven ordered.

“I promise to not tell anyone what you are about to tell me.”

“Ok.” Raven said, taking a fortifying breath while she shook her head in disbelief she was going to say it. “When Anya and I hung out for the first time alone, I wound up knocking myself out.”

Lexa had to use every ounce of resolve she had in order to fight back the laugh that wanted to erupt from her lungs. “You, what?”

“Yeah.” Raven sighed. “See, I wanted to impress her and I heard from a friend of hers that she loved fireworks. Me being me, I thought it would be really cool to set up fireworks at a baseball diamond. Like, set the fireworks up on the cage and have them all go off in order then as it ended, I’d ask her out by giving her a flower and a note asking her to go to a movie with me.”

“That sounds really nice.”

“Exactly what I thought. The fireworks didn’t exactly work as I planned and even though she said it was fine, in my mind it had to be perfect. I climbed up on to the cage and decided the smartest thing to do was to light the fuses from up there one after another.”

Raven sighed again and rolled her eyes at herself in a similar fashion Anya did that evening.

“Then, the last one refused to go no matter what I did so I crawled over to the edge of the cage, even though Anya was telling me not to worry about it and just come down. Instead I was so nervous that I lit the short part of the fuse and the entire thing blew up. Thankfully, it was just a small firework but it was enough to knock me off the cage and fall to the ground.”

“Where you knocked yourself out.”

“Yep.”

“Oh my god, Raven.” Lexa said, reaching up and inspecting what she could see of Raven’s head.

“Anya had some other choice words when I woke up in the hospital with my head in a bandage but I saw the flower she had in her hand. It was the same one that I had in my back pocket that I planned to give her once the fireworks finished with the note asking her out on a date. She handed the note back to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then said all I had to do was ask rather than to go through all the trouble of getting myself knocked out.”

“But it worked out. You two are together.”

“We are. So if I can knock myself out and we turned out as great as I like to think we are, I promise you, Kate would let you get away with something as simple as being a nervous wreck.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. I bet you ten bucks she was easily as nervous as you are. I’ll bet ten more she grilled Clarke on the way back to the gym about you.”

Lexa shook her head. “I’m not going to take that bet.”

“So you believe me that she likes you?”

“I think so. Yeah.”

“There’s some of that confidence I am used to seeing but you two can work on that when you two spend more time together.” Raven said, clapping her hands and standing up from the bench they were both on. She helped Lexa to her feet and led her in the direction of the high school.

“Raven?”

“Yeah?”

“If I have questions about… things, can I talk to you and Anya?”

“I expect nothing less, my young Padawan.” Raven said solemnly which led to a playful shove and a smile from Lexa. She was happy Lexa had managed to work through some of her nervousness to smile about the situation.

Raven threw her arm over Lexa’s shoulders as they approached the front doors of the school and watched a large mass of people squeezing through the doors so they could get to the gym. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits which was a good sign. They followed the flow through the entrance and it wasn’t long before Indra’s searching eyes landed on the pair They could feel her disapproving glare before they had seen her.

“I thought you were going to be back by four o’clock?” Indra asked, looking up at the large clock suspended from the ceiling in the hallway. It read four-thirty.

Lexa looked up at the clock, then at Raven, then at her mother. The nervousness crept into her again with the understanding that she was just now figuring things out, she had no idea how to relay what she was feeling to her mother. She’d just barely been able to express them to Raven a little while ago and she didn’t have it in her to share it with her mother. Not yet.

“We, um, I had some issues and Lexa was nice enough to stay behind and wait for me.” Raven managed to say, in an effort to keep her and Lexa’s conversation between just her and Lexa for the time being.

Indra eyed them suspiciously but wound up giving them the benefit of a doubt and an understanding nod after looking back and forth between the girls.

“Let me know if either of you would like to talk about it. For now, why don’t you both head into the gym and say hello. Everyone on the bus from Polis arrived a few minutes ago from Polis. Kate and Clarke are in there waiting as well.”

“Thanks, coach”

“Thanks, mom.”

The pair walked into the gym to the sound of music that was playing over Raven’s repaired stereo system. She couldn’t help but feel a small sense of accomplishment when she noticed there were kids of all ages dancing up on the stage to the music and she was happy to be a part of making that happen.

“Hey guys.” Clarke said, approaching the pair. “Everything good?”

“Yeah.” Lexa said, not elaborating any further.

“Good. This place is getting packed! We should be able to raise a ton of money tonight. One of the girls from Tondc said that there are so many people that the parking in the surrounding neighbourhoods are starting to fill up.”

“I’m glad. This school and it’s students deserve it, especially with things the way they are.” Raven added. Wait, is that…” Raven asked, pointing across the gym at a figure surrounded by a ton of Polis Panther hopefuls. “It can’t be.”

Lexa looked across the gym and was happy to see Megan Rapinoe, star forward and captain of the Seattle Reign along with being a member of the US Women’s national team. She was signing autographs, her eyes looked back at Lexa and waved a greeting and Lexa waved back to say ‘hello’.

A moment later afteer Raven watched their exchange and looking back and forth in disbelief, Raven landed a solid punch on the shoulder.

”Ow!”

“Shut up. You know Megan Rapinoe?” Raven gasped at Lexa. “When were you going to tell me?”

“My mom knows her.” Lexa explained, rubbing her sore shoulder. “They went to University together and then after my worked with the USWNT. Mostly I just kicked a ball around on the side of the pitch during squad practices.”

“Well, you have to introduce me. Wait, does your mom know Alex Morgan?”

“I don’t know.” Lexa said, shrugging her shoulders. She wanted to pay attention to whatever Raven was saying, but right now she had something, or someone else on her mind. Not Alex Morgan, and not Megan Rapinoe.

Looking both to the left and the right she couldn’t find her target. Most of the girls from Tondc were consumed with the celebrity presence but Kate wasn’t among them, leading to Lexa feeling a frustration building within her.

“Lex, I’m going to go over to meet Megan. Clarke’s over there with Octavia and the others if you want to meet over there after?”

Lexa smiled and nodded at Raven, “Sounds good. Have fun.” but it was to Raven’s back because she’d already headed off to join the legion of fans that listened to the story she was sharing.

Lexa continued to scan the room and was beginning to become frustrated until she saw Kate walk in through one of the side doors on the opposite side of the gym. It didn’t take long before she looked over in Lexa’s direction and offered a cautious smile and a nervous wave, only to smile happily when Lexa offered her the same in return. There were some girls who were calling her over to meet Megan, but she politely refused them with a slight shake of her head. Instead, she walked straight across the gym to Lexa.

“Hey?”

“Hey.” Lexa answered.

“So that’s your secret, is it?”

“My secret?”

“Why you are so good. You didn’t plan on telling me your mom knows the entire roster of the women’s national team?”

“I… my mom knows them. I didn’t, I don’t…”

“Lexa. It’s ok. I’m just teasing. I know you don’t just get as good as you are without practicing hard.” Kate smiled, tentatively reaching out and taking Lexa’s hand which resulted in her taking a fortifying breath when Lexa didn't pull away.

“This has blown up.” Lexa suggested, fully aware of Kate’s hand in hers but she still looking around the packed room and the apparent overwhelming success of the event.

“Lex?” Kate asked, her voice barely louder than the music that filled the gym or the loud conversations taking place but that didn’t matter because she was all Lexa could hear - that and the pounding of her heart which was trying to burst forth from her chest.

“Yeah?”

“Can we go somewhere quieter for a bit and talk?”

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raven and Clarke helping Lexa find her way to Kate?! What in the Clexa universe is going on?!
> 
> I know. :( Yell at me in the comments.


	18. An Evening in Tondc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The auction and events in Tondc goes beyond expectations, resulting in a few surprises which promise a memorable year for the students of both High Schools.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update day!
> 
> I know, I know. It took a lot longer than I'd like to post but with life being life, we can only work with what we're given. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys and I'll try my best to get the next one up asap! 
> 
> See you soon!

“How was it?” Raven asked, leaning in to Clarke so she could be heard over the loud music playing in the gymnasium. She was in the process of sitting down when Clarke motioned for her to stop and pointed over in the direction of a side exit in the large and very packed room.

“We should go outside to talk about it.” Clarke said, gesturing to all the people within earshot of their upcoming conversation. Raven nodded her understanding to that she didn’t want too many strangers knowing Lexa and Kate’s business. That and it might be nice to be back outside because it was quite warm in the gym, even with the air conditioners on and the fans circulating the air..

They made their way while successfully weaving through the mass of bodies. Clarke lead Raven by taking Raven’s hand and pulled her along until they were through the side door that led to the kids games outside. She scanned their surroundings and continued pulling Raven along.

“Over there.” Clarke directed her attention, escorting Raven down the long brick wall of the gym to the far side side of the school to where she could see a few metal benches to sit on. Once there, they both fell onto the bench and took a second to enjoy the much cooler air outside until Raven’s curiosity got the better of her.

“So? How did it go?”

“I’d never seen someone so freaked out.”

“Aww.” Raven’s eyes softened hearing the worry that must have been consuming Kate because it was the same one that wreaked havoc in Lexa.

“Yeah.” Clarke confirmed. “At first she thought she upset Lexa or crossed some sort of boundary but I made sure she knew that wasn’t the case. Then she asked me if I thought Lexa liked her. I think she believed she thought she ruined any chance she had with Lex.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That Lexa probably had too much sugar and she might not have been feeling well.”

“I mean, it’s possible I guess?” Raven cracked a grin.

“Shut up!” Clarke shoved Raven’s shoulder. “I know it was a crappy excuse but it’s all I could think of at the moment. Rae, she looked so sad!”

“I think they will clear things up tonight. Did you see her light up when Kate walked back in the gym?”

“It was so cute. I bet everything was moving in slow motion for Lexa as Kate walked across the gym toward her. And then when she took her hand?”

“It looks like she isn’t going to let their being nervous get in her way. Kate is a determined girl, it was clear when she was in Polis trying out for the team. I guess your talk really helped.”

“Well, not right away. I told her that Lexa just moved to Polis and I was still getting to know her. I made sure she understood that what I know of her since she joined our group is that she is very protective of her friends and has a good heart. That and she is really tight with her brother.”

“Totally true. It’s the same with her parents.” Raven agreed. “Lexa fell into the group pretty quickly but I figured she would.”

“I also said that whenever soccer and Tondc is ever brought up in the same topic of conversation, her name is usually the first thing out of Lexa’s mouth. It would have been nice to have a heads up that Lexa was spending the day with Kate to get to know her instead of them just being teammates to hang out.”

“You survived. To be honest, I didn’t know if they would even approach the subject for another couple weeks. Lexa is completely oblivious.” Raven stated. “But I’m sure that you made Kate’s afternoon a whole lot better after what happened.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone smile as brightly as the way she did. How was Lexa after we left?”

Raven spend the next while explaining to Clarke what Lexa admitted to her in the bathroom and the exchange that transpired on the park bench and making them late in returning to the school. Clarke listened with interest how Raven explained that Lexa admitted never having feelings for anyone like she’d been experiencing for Kate, and that she freaked out when she didn’t know what to do. Of course, Raven omitted her own embarrassing story from the particulars.

“It’s going to be hard for them, with Kate being in Tondc and Lexa in Polis.” Clarke suggested. “Do you think they’ll work out?”

“I think they should give it a shot if they both want it. I think that is something Lexa has to figure out because we both know Kate does.”

“That much is obvious. She looked so sad on the way back to the school. It was like someone took her favourite thing in the whole world away from her.”

“Well, Lexa is only a month away from being able to drive and she has to work with kids soccer on Sundays thanks to the fight at try-outs so they will be able to spend some time together outside of games and practices.”

“That’s good. I just hope she doesn’t forget her friends with being so busy. She is taking on a lot it seems. Did you know she wants a job when she is allowed to legally work?”

“Lexa? Not a chance she’d ignore us. If she tried, I’d kick her ass when we go for our runs. She really wants to get her motorcycle running and I doubt she’d let anything get in her way of that.”

“She is going to drive it all the way to Tondc?” Clarke looked wide-eyed at Raven.

“It's not working right now, but yeah. I saw it when the movers put it in the garage. It needs a fair bit of work on it to get t running, hence Lexa wanting a job. I’m going to convince her to let me work on it with her when she gets the parts.”

“She better wear a helmet.” Clarke frowned, thinking of the dangers of motorcycles and what her mother says about them when people are brought into the hospital after an accident.

“Relax, Griff. If there is one thing Lexa is, it’s a girl who follows the rules.” Raven laughed. “Did you know when we run she won’t cross the street unless we do it at a corner? There are no cars on the road that early and she made me swear I’d cross where she crosses or she won’t run with me any more.”

Both of them laughed at that because it was in stark contrast to what they’d seen the night of the party when Lexa was an “absolute bad-ass” as Raven had put it, not to mention her altercation with Ava. All Clarke could think was that she knew so little about Lexa and made a promise to herself to make time to learn the details of her newest friend’s life.

“Well, I don’t like motorcycles.” Clarke declared.

“You don’t like it because your mom scared the dream of owning one out of you.” Raven stuck her tongue out at her playfully.

“You know that the majority of motorcycle accidents…”

“And if there is anyone who will drive safely, it’s Lexa.” Raven interrupted, watching Clarke cross her arms. “Besides, she doesn’t even have a running bike and it’ll be months before she can afford the parts before she can even work on it.”

Clarke frowned but had to agree that even though she didn’t know Lexa as well as Raven yet, she seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders and she trusted Raven’s judgement. After a moment Clarke leaned back in the bench and sighed. “Then, I’m getting her a helmet for her birthday.”

“She likes the colour blue.” Raven grinned.

~*~*~

Behind them, the music and mixture of laughter and conversation radiated from the gym behind the pair as Kate led Lexa by hand down the long hallway of her school, her hand holding on tightly as if she was afraid Lexa would get lost if she let go.

She had to remind herself of Raven’s words that Kate was likely just as nervous about this as she was, but she seemed so in control. At least that’s how she looked as Lexa stole one of her numerous peeks at the girl leading her away from the crowds with a mischievous smile on her face, a face that took as many peeks at her as they hustled down the hall. Whatever was happening, Lexa refused to let the nervousness conquer her again, fighting to get her heart under control.

“We’re almost there.” Kate whispered, looking back at the gym to make sure they had managed to sneak away successfully and make sure nobody was the wiser. They arrived at a couple large metal doors leading outside and Kate shouted “Let’s go!” as she pushed on the door handle and yanking Lexa nearly out of her shoes at the abrupt movement forward.

The running didn’t stop once they made it outside, Kate declaring they still weren’t safe from being found out so she led them both toward a secluded spot where much to Lexa’s surprise, there were similar tables to the ones near the athletic fields at Polis High. “Nobody will be able to see us from the school over here.” Kate said, sitting down and giving a soft tug on Lexa’s so that she would join her.

“My friends and I hang out here.”

“It’s a lot like the ones by our parking lot.” Lexa suggested. “It’s nice here.”

“Yeah? I’m glad you like it. Y’know, this has been a pretty crazy day, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Lexa agreed. They both let the silence fall around them until they both tried to speak at the same time.

“Listen, Kate…”

“No Lex, please. Let me.” Kate interrupted, taking her hand from Lexa’s so she could adjust her position so she could sit to face Lexa, only she didn’t look up into Lexa’s eyes like she normally did and her fingers were busy fidgeting in her lap. Lexa couldn’t help but feel the absence of Kate’s hand in her own. “I’m sorry if I did anything that made you feel uncomfortable earlier at the ice cream shop.”

“It’s not. No. You didn’t.” Lexa found herself adjusting herself on the bench so she straddled it as Kate had, giving her the ability to look across at Kate.

Kate’s mouth offered her a small smile at her polite words but she didn’t look at her. Her eyes remained downcast at the bench as if she wasn’t sure to believe it or not. Lexa couldn’t help but feel a pang in her chest seeing Kate’s nervousness being on display but her resolve was strengthened by seeing the slight movement upward at the corners of Kate’s lips.

“I just, I didn’t know what to do. I mean, I got nervous and I didn’t know if you were just being nice or if… if you liked me the way I think you might and when you put your head on my shoulder I…” Lexa didn’t know how else to explain it. She felt like her mouth was full of cotton and couldn’t coherently get out the words her mind wanted to say. After a moment, she managed to just blurt it out. “…I liked it. When you did it.”

“You did? You were nervous?” Kate asked as she slowly looked upward so her brown eyes searched Lexa’s wide green eyes. and there was hope in her eyes, even though her hands were still fidgeting in her lap. “I was, I am nervous too. I did it because I needed to be closer to you. I don’t know how you didn’t feel my heart racing.”

“I think it’s because I was worried mine was going to explode.” Lexa managed to push out a small laugh, hoping to break the pressure building up within her. ”This is all new to me and I like you, Kate. I have never… not as anything more than friends and I think I do, with you I mean.” Lexa’s words cut short when Kate’s eyes shot up at her with surprise.

“Really?” Kate asked, her eyes as wide as Lexa’s now, finding the reassurance in them that she didn’t just imagine what she just heard.

“Yeah. I do.” Lexa took a deep breath and remained staring forward at Kate, finishing her words with a shy smile that led to Kate offering Lexa one of her own.

“Me too.” Kate said, but as her cheeks reddened, she amended her thoughts. “I mean, I like you too."

Lexa reached out to take Kate’s hands in her own, their finger tips grazing and they both felt the shock and it led to a mutual shyness between the two causing their eyes jump back and forth between their hands and their eyes to gauge the others reaction. When which gave them both a reason to smile brightly, teasing each other with touches of fingers danging in each others hands.

Once their hands found their way to take a firm hold, they found themselves starting to lean forward and Kate mirrored her movement, closing the distance between the two and neither of them could look away from the other if they tried. Lexa tried to keep her nervousness at bay and found herself wondering if Kate could feel the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach too. She didn’t have much time to reflect on it because before she knew it, her eyes closed and she could feel Kate’s lips brush her own, placing a slight amount of pressure in their kiss leading Lexa to close her eyes.

Lexa didn’t know how long they’d been kissing, all she knew is that it felt like she was on a cloud that allowed her to fly alongside the butterflies inside her. The world around her ceased to exist and it was only her and Kate. She was wrapped in the moment and it was only when she finally felt the pressure on her lips lessen then disappear she lifted her fingertips to her lips and slowly opened her eyes to see Kate smiling back at her, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip and trying to catch her breath.

“Wow.” Lexa breathed out, eliciting a giggle from Kate.

“I agree. I’d like to stay here and keep doing this but we have to go.” Kate said, frowning and letting out a sad sigh.

“Did I do something wrong?” Lexa asked, reaching down and taking Kate’s hand. Kate could see the concern on Lexa’s face and she leaned in and gave her a small kiss to reassure her.

“Definitely not!” Kate said, leaning forward and pecking Lexa on the lips once more then leaning her forehead against Lexa’s. “I think your mom has been paging people to come back to the gym for a couple minutes. We have to get back in there before some big announcement.”

“What?! Oh god. My mom is going to kill me.” Lexa groaned. “C’mon! We have to go!”

Lexa grabbed Kate’s hand and nearly yanked her off the bench. “She won’t kill you.”

“You’re right. She’ll kill us both!” Lexa exclaimed.

The pair ran back to the school hand in hand, remembering that they had to return through the side door in order to access the gymnasium because the door they left through was a security door and always locked. Thankfully, there were still people filing themselves into the gym and it was easy for them to get lost in the crowd.

“Kate! Come on! We were looking everywhere for you!” cried one of the girls Lexa remembered from earlier in the day. Linda, if she could recall correctly. Although Lexa was standing there in the gym, her head was still somewhere in the clouds. “Hi Lexa.” She grinned, looking between the two returning girls.

“Sorry! I gotta go. Don’t leave without saying goodbye!” Kate shouted to Lexa as she was being pulled away by her friends.

“I won’t!” Lexa called out to make sure she could be heard over the noise and the increasing distance between the two.

“Won’t what?” came Octavia’s voice from behind Lexa. When Lexa turned to see her, she was sporting a grin and studying Lexa’s appearance. “Looks like I was right.”

“Maybe” Lexa smiled as she tucked some strands of loose hair behind her ear.

“You can tell us all about it later. Your mom has been looking for you and Kate for the last twenty minutes. Apparently all the people who tried out for the team have to get up on stage for an announcement. Tondc and Polis.”

“Really? Shit.” Lexa sighed. She wasn’t going to be able to avoid getting in trouble for being A.W.O.L. with Kate.

“About time you made it back, Lex.” Raven said, yanking Lexa along with her to go up to the stage, along with Octavia, Ava and a few others from the team who arrived to help set up or take down everything after the event. “Your mom is going to kick your ass. She wanted to get this started ten minutes ago.”

Lexa nodded her understanding but it didn’t matter. She could deal with whatever her mom had in store for her later on. Right now all she cared about was scanning down the line of girls on the stage to catch the sought-after brown eyes of Kate looking back at her, mouthing the word “hi” and giving a subtle wave which Lexa reciprocated. The flutter in her chest and the ear--to-ear smile that appeared on her face did all the talking for her.

_‘Worth it’._

~*~*~

The Principal of Tondc High, stood proudly at the podium which overlooked the gymnasium where he thanked the many visitors for participating in the evenings festivities and informed them all that thanks to their generosity and that of the businesses from Polis and Tondc, they had been able to fly right past their goal of raising seven thousand dollars, raising nearly twenty-three thousand.

The gym erupted with cheers and after a moment, the man informed them all that it would help not only the extra curricular programs, but core courses by giving students the tools to reach their full potential which was again, met with raucous celebration from everyone in attendance.

After the applause and whistles, that filled the room once more, he quickly thanked the hard work of the volunteers on stage for helping make the event a possibility and the hard work they put in after it became much bigger than they dreamed possible, adding that one of the students from Polis was responsible for their music tonight by somehow managing to fix their entire sound system. Feeling a shove in her back from both Octavia and Lexa, Raven stumbled out and her face turned crimson with being made the center of attention when everyone’s eyes shifted to her.

“And there she is!” He directed everyone’s attention toward a flustered Raven Reyes, leaving Raven to meekly raise her hand and step backward into the lineup of girls. When the applause stopped, Raven shot both Lexa and Octavia a sideways glare for making her the center of attention.

He then introduced introduced Indra who smiled and strode across the stage, waving to everyone in the gym but not before she shot her daughter a look of her own that seemed to echo the sentiment of unfinished business Raven’s had a moment ago.

Indra went through the same sentiments of the principal, thanking all those involved and the volunteers from both boys and girls teams who came together to make this event possible, as well as Tondc high and it’s community for being so welcoming. By now, everyone was aware of the boxes on the stage that Kate and Lexa helped move into the office at the start of the day and it was the next item in Indra’s speech.

“Could I get two players, one from each Tondc and Polis to come over and open the boxes please? Take out one and hold them up so everyone can see.”

The girls all looked at each other curiously and Octavia stepped forward for the Polis girls and Kate stepped forward for the Tondc girls. The tape that had kept the boxes closed had already been cut so all they had to do was flip the cardboard open and when they did, their mouths opened in surprise.

“This year,” Indra said, “With our two schools becoming a single team we’ve decided that our uniforms could use an update to reflect that cooperation. This is the new jersey of your Polis and Tondc Panthers!”

The audience celebrated when Kate and Octavia held up the new team jerseys. Rather than the bright colours of Tondc, these ones incorporated the half black and half silver of Tondc, split as they went down in an angle from the top left shoulder to the bottom right at the hip. The logo remained the familiar Polis Panther logo, an open-mouthed panther lunging outward and after a soccer ball directly in the middle of the jersey. Kate and Octavia turned so the girls could all see it and their mouths hung open in awe.

“There is one in there for every player who tried out for the Panthers. I’m happy to announce that all the coaches have agreed that every one of the girls who tried out this year will be players on our active roster and will play this year. Please, come up and take your jerseys out of the open boxes when they are given to you by either Kate or Octavia.”

She had hoped for order, but it turned into a flurry of girls throwing each other their proper jerseys while ignoring Octavia and Kate who had, at least for a moment, tried to maintain order but wound up just getting our of the way. The entire spectacle dew quite a few laughs from the crowd who watched the girls attack the boxes, all the while Indra explaining that the players who could not make it to the event would be getting their full kit on Monday.

Once the chaos settled and the girls all proudly wore their jerseys on the stage behind her and pictures were taken for the papers in Tondc and Polis, Indra made a few more announcements regarding the upcoming season and that they looked forward to seeing similar support on the pitch when the season began.

Lastly she thanked everyone for coming as it was nearly nine o’clock and they were aware those returning to Polis had a long drive ahead but if they could just bear with her for just one more surprise. She asked everyone present to head outside to the front of the school in order join the representative of the USWNT for her announcement.

Indra’s thin explanation led to a lot of excited speculation as to what was awaiting them outside, none more excited than the girls who frantically scrambled from the stage to get outside to meet one of their heroes who had some exciting news for them all.

The crowd all stood on the front lawn in high spirits. The night had been a spectacular success and whatever this was, to many it was just icing on the cake. Indra stood next to the Principal and Vice Principal, and beside them, Megan Rapinoe who was now stepping forward after glancing over her shoulder a few times.

“When the I was first contacted by Coach Woods and she told me about a community that was trying to raise money on behalf of it’s sports clubs, I knew we were obligated to help out. Together with your coaches and your administrators, we tried to decide what was the most pressing need for your team and we knew that it was important that nobody miss their practices and that nobody be unable to attend their games because they had no way to make it to them.”

Again, she glanced over her shoulder and followed her eyes to see two buses driving into the parking lot behind them. She turned back to the crowd and could hear the excited hum rise from the onlookers.

“So, on behalf of the USWNT and the Seattle Reign, we would like to donate these to Tondc High School, along with a guarantee to cover the mechanical and transportation costs for both for this and the next school year.”

As if on cue, the buses rolled to a stop behind them and the engines turned off. A moment later the doors opened, allowing the drivers to hop off the buses. If it were possible the crowd cheered louder than they had in the gym when they announced that they had gone well beyond their financial goal.

All the girls sprinted forward - both Tondc and Polis toward buses which they eagerly climbed aboard, laughing and cheering as they danced in the aisle and collapsed into the seats hugging each other and high-fiving their new teammates in celebration.

Lexa found herself in front of Kate and they collided in a hug, Lexa lifting Kate off the ground, then leaning forward and quickly pressing a kiss. It was as if they were all alone again, right up until all the girls who were witness to their quick kiss started shouting “goooooooooal” at them, teasing them about their outward display of affection. There were a few “about time’s” and the obligatory “get a bus of your own” from Raven who collapsed into Octavia with laughter. Lexa pulled herself off Kate but their hands remained together while they giggled and fell into laughter with their teammates.

The girls all started to get off the buses but it was only after Indra’s warning they would all be running sprints on Monday if they didn’t “move their butts off the buses immediately” that they all actually removed themselves with and real motivation.

“Hey hun.” Said a voice that caught Raven’s attention.

She spun and saw Anya standing there just behind the bus door. “Babe!” she shouted as she launched herself into Anya’s arms. She pulled back her head after placing a kiss on her cheek. “I thought you couldn’t make it.”

“I wasn’t going to miss this.” Anya explained. “I heard this was an eventful day.”

“Oh my god. It has been. Who told you?” Raven asked, pulling off her jersey so she could give it back to Indra.

“That guy.” she pointed behind Raven, who quickly spun around again and could see Lincoln talking with Octavia and Clarke. “You can tell me on the ride home.”

“Clarke, we’re going to take off. You good?” Raven shouted to Clarke who had been her ride to Tondc.

“Perfect! See you on Monday?” Clarke asked.

“Unless you want to start running with Me and Lexa?”

Clarke gave her a look of disgust and yelled, “Oh, hell no.” which caused both Anya and Raven to laugh.

“Have a safe drive, Clarke.” Anya said, waving goodbye.

“So what’s the plan?” Clarke asked, turning her attention to Octavia and Lincoln.

“We were going to go have a dinner but it’s getting pretty late. Instead we’re just going to hit up a fast food joint for a quick snack. Up for joining us?”

“Sure. Let me just let my folks know I’ll be back late.” Clarke said, pulling out her phone and opening up her contacts. Once she got the ‘ok’, she tucked her phone away in her pocket. “All settled. I’ll follow you?”

“Alright.” Lincoln said. “Is Lexa joining us?”

They all glanced around and when they caught sight of the pair, they were busy wrapped up in each other, hand in hand on one of the benches in front of the school.

“Hey Lexa! You and Kate coming for something to eat before we go back to Polis?” Octavia shouted to the pair who were now sitting down over by the school.

After a moment of conversation between the two, Lexa turned back to the trio near the buses.

“I have to ask my mom!”

Lexa jumped up from the bench and sprinted across the grass to where Indra standing and talking to a few of the other adults and well aware of the shouting-conversation her daughter was having with Octavia.

“Mom…”

“You can go with your friends.”

Lexa pumped her fist and turned back in Octavia’s direction to yell, “I can go!”

The adults all got a laugh out of what was happening in front of them.

“Dont’t forget we have to come back here early tomorrow morning so don’t stay too late.” Gustus reminded her.

“We won’t be here too late, dad.” Lexa swore, covering her heart with her hand.

“Lexa, don’t forget we need those jerseys before you go.” Indra added, pointing at her jersey.

“Mom, can I go too?” Kate asked her mother as she approached the group of parents and winding up standing right next to Lexa.

“Of course, but jersey first.” She pointed and the jersey Kate had hoped to be able to take home with her.

Both of the girls pulled the jersey over their heads and straightened their shirts once they’d taken them off. They then reluctantly handed them back to Indra who had called out to any other girls who still wore their jersey to bring them over before they go home or else, “sprints”.

“Let’s go.” Lexa said, leading Kate off in the direction of the car Lincoln was driving. Everyone climbed into their respective vehicles, and Kate slipped into into the back seat of the car Lincoln was driving so she could sit next to Lexa, their hands drawn to each other as if they couldn’t exist without the contact.

“Where are we headed?” Lincoln asked Kate, looking back in his rear-view mirror after checking to make sure everyone else was in their car and ready to go that was joining them. It didn’t escape his notice that their hands were together and he smiled.

“What kind of food are guys up for?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Yeah. I know. 
> 
> Lexa and Kate aren't Clexa but in my defence, this is a slow burn! It's just going to take some time. They are 15 and 16 years old at the moment! They don't know what they want yet. Well, some of them think the do.
> 
> Ok, fine. Vent at me in the comments. :)


	19. Monday, Monday.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter, The Tondc auction/raffle was a complete success, as was the sharing of feelings between Lexa and Kate as they took a step toward something more than just being friends.
> 
>  
> 
> This Monday morning, Lexa is quick to learn her friends think they are comedians after learning what occurred in Tondc between her and Kate. After a little teasing, the stage is set for later in the week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, WAY too long for an update. 
> 
> This isn't a very long one but I really felt the need to get something posted and let everyone know I am not bailing on the story. Life... *shakes fist at the sky*
> 
> I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP.

“Lexa. Hell-ooooooo Lexa.” Raven teased from her seat across from Lexa at the picnic table and flipping a fry at Lexa so it bounced off her fingertips.

Lexa’s attention was entirely consumed by the device in her hands and her fingers moving in a blur as they tapped at the screen. She was currently trying to finish a message to Kate while juggling the conversations going on around her but to her dismay she was failing miserably.

“Yeah?” Lexa said, looking up and across to Raven, one eyebrow raised to inquire why she felt the need to throw food at her.

“You are in for Friday night, yes?”

“Friday?”

“Yeah. The thing we’ve been discussing for the last five minutes?” she emphasized with an eye roll. “Our first Polis Panther sleep over!”

“Oh. Um… yeah. I’m in.” Lexa said, glancing down at her phone and getting lost once more to reply to the message that popped up while asking, her thumbs tapping away at the screen. “What should I bring?”

“All you need to bring is yourself and maybe a snack for everyone to eat. Bought or home made, up to you.”

“Ok.”

“And you should wear a swimsuit so when we jump in my non-existing pool you don’t get your clothes wet.”

“Ok.” Lexa replied again.

“Don’t forget to water the llamas.” Clarke added.

“Water. Mhmm. Got it. Wait, water for what?”

“Well, at least a part of her is still in Polis.” Octavia said,joining the others in laughing at the bewildered expression that Lexa was displaying to them all.

Lexa shook her head at her friends who had been having their fair share of fun at her expense. All of it good-natured, of course. She didn’t mind because her attention was otherwise occupied hearing from Kate that she was receiving much the same treatment from her friends in Tondc.

Lexa: _I think they just said something about me bringing water for an animal for a sleep over party at Raven’s this Friday_.

Kate: _Not any better here. Emily just asked me something about being in a relationship with my phone and whether or not you should be jealous._

Lexa: _Should I be jealous?_

Kate: _I’m using my phone to get to you. Don’t tell or it’s feelings will get hurt._

Lexa: _Can you stay in Polis this Friday after practice?_

Kate: _I’ll ask my mom and see if it’s alright with her._

Lexa: _It’ll be fun. Everyone is supposed to bring food that can be made or bought._

Kate: _I don’t know if I could make anything. I’d probably have to just buy something._

Lexa: _We could make something up together after practice at my house._

After hitting send on her last message, Lexa heard her name and her head popped up again from her cellphone, turning to look in the direction of the source that spoke her name.

“C’mon guys. Lets take it easy on Lexa. Besides, we don’t have enough stories to embarrass her in front of Kate yet. She has to trust us.” Murphy joked from his seat on the fence before he taking a bite of his hamburger.

“You guys want embarrassing stories about Lexa?” Lincoln grinned at his sister who lifted her eyes and an eyebrow in question. When she grinned, his confident facade crumbled.

“You guys want embarrassing stories? I’ve got tons of them about Lincoln.Do you want to know about the time when we were at the public pool back in our old neighbourhood and he was trying to impress a couple girls by diving off…”

“And somehow I’ve completely forgotten every embarrassing story I thought I knew. Lincoln raised his hands in surrender as the jeers rained down on him from everyone. “Truce?”

“Truce.” Lexa agreed, spying him through half-closed lids. They both knew they could go on for hours if they didn’t.

“You’ll have to tell me that one later.” Octavia nudged him with her shoulder and threw a wink up at him, causing his cheeks to redden. “Oh, it must be a good one!”

“So. Saturday was successful on all accounts it seems.” Clarke suggested, her words pointed at the brunette girl who struggled to divide her attention evenly between her phone and her friends at the tables.

“It was.”

Lexa smiled brightly and she wouldn’t fight it if she wanted to. Only the sound of the school bell ringing was able to dampen her spirit because she wasn’t free to text when she or Kate were in class. The last thing she wanted to do was get in trouble and grounded again.

Of course, it didn’t stop Lexa from remaining in her seat and try to extract every second she had before she was forced to put her phone away and head to the library for her study break. The next time she looked up, it was well after everyone had already bid each other farewell and wandered off to their respective classes. Only Clarke remained, standing there with a smile on her face.

“Didn’t take you as someone who fell so hard so fast, Woods.”

“I didn’t either.” Lexa said as she set herself to urgently stuffing her Tupperware containers of her barely eaten lunch into her backpack.

“You look really happy.”

“I am.” Lexa pulled her backpack into her chest in a hug as she started to walk toward the school, leading Clarke to hustle up to her side and match her pace.

“I hate to change the subject because I’ve got a ton of questions, but are you making it to study group after school?” Clarke asked as she reached down and opened the door for them to walk through and into the hallway.

“I’m not grounded anymore so I can make it. I can go after practice throughout the week too but I will need a ride home. I don’t think Lincoln is going to stick around and wait for me when we get done.”

“Then I’ll be your ride home whenever you need it. We’re setting up a snack for everyone to eat while we study, nothing much but enough to keep us awake while we pour through our work. Not today, but probably tomorrow.”

“That would be great. I can bring some veggies and dip.” Lexa offered, walking Clarke to the stairs she’d need to take to her first class of the afternoon.

Clarke made a sour-face and stuck her tongue out. “And you are now officially uninvited to study group.”

“Shut it!” Lexa laughed, shoving her so she’d start heading up the stairs to her next class. “There’s nothing wrong with healthy snacks.”

“Yeah? Say that to Raven. The last time I suggested a salad at one of her sleep overs, I spent the next two weeks checking under my bed for things that go ‘boom’ .” Clarke laughed as she started hustling up the stairs because she was approaching that line between being late and very late for class. “See ya later, Woods.”

“’Later, Griffin.”

Lexa headed off to the library and put a lot of pace in her steps. She knew they were both late and the real risk of getting in trouble was starting to hang over her head, arriving at the library five minutes after the bell, receiving a stern look from the older woman she had discovered was named Agnes Tully.

“Tardiness is not acceptable, Miss Woods.” she reprimanded, tapping the sign in book that each student had to sign upon arrival to ensure they weren’t just skipping a block. “I don’t want to see your name on the bottom of the list for a week again because you are late.”

“Sorry Mrs. Tulley. It won’t happen again.” Lexa said, quickly etching her name on the lined paper then heading off to the back of the library. She certainly couldn't get in trouble this quickly again. There's no telling how long she'd lose her phone and laptop again because she knew Indra would demand them both. The odds of her being able to convince Gustus to help her out would be next to none.

When she sat down, she caught unhappy glares from the students around her for dropping her bag down on her table a little too loudly and interrupting their silent progress on whatever task they’d set themselves to. It wasn’t much, but she offered everyone who seemed upset a silent apology with her eyes then set herself to her own work.

Of course, it was after she checked her phone once more to see a message notification.

Kate: _I can’t wait. I’ll text you when I’m out of class and we can talk about it._


	20. Week Number Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets together and the sleep over for Friday is official, and everyone gets to meet someone new. Claire spills some news that Kate isn't comfortable sharing yet and thanks to Octavia, everyone finds out Lexa isn't a fan of horror movies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! 
> 
> Happy Sunday to you all, I hope your day/night is going great and thanks for spending some of it with me and the story. This chapter is a fairly long one so I hope you let me know in the comments what you thought of it. :)
> 
> Thanks again for any Kudos/Comments you leave after the chapters and I look forward to posting the next chapter ASAP.
> 
> See you later and enjoy!

“Oh. My. God.” Raven wheezed after her body fell to a heap on the pitch beside Lexa who was already on the turf and gasping for air. “I mean it this time. Your mom. The worst.”

All the girls were sprawled out on the grass on the fine but very sunny Wednesday afternoon. At least half of them were groaning and gasping for air while the other half believed themselves too tired to even groan about how exhausted they were.

“Your cardio will be the foundation on which everything we do this year will rely upon, ladies. You’d better get used to running!” Shouted coach Indra. “Grab some water and make sure all of you drink plenty throughout the evening. Also, your coaches have put together a meal plan that will benefit you through the upcoming season if you would like to try it. It isn’t required but you will feel and notice the results as we train through the season.”

Some of the girls who weren’t groaning from the exhaustive practice started to as their imaginations started to betray their minds with images of nothing but vegetables and other healthy alternatives. Many were still on summer-break diets which meant take out and cafeteria fried foods which were easy solutions to their carb-craving bodies.

“So, it’s not enough to try to commit multiple homicides on the pitch, now she wants to take away my enjoyment of junk food? I might not be long for this world if this continues.” Raven exclaimed dramatically.

“It’s not that bad, Rae.” Lexa suggested. “You’ll just have to stop eating so many french fries at lunch.”

“Now her daughter too? The Woods women are all trying to kill me.” Raven rolled over on to her stomach and buried her face in her arms.

Lexa laughed at Raven’s dramatics and then her eyes sought out Kate who was continuing to struggle with recovery. It was obvious that her cardio wasn’t quite at the level of hers and Raven’s but she did much better than some of the other girls judging by the place on the field she was laying down.

Lexa quickly hopped up and ran over to Kate to plop down next to her. 

“Think you’ll make it?”

“I don’t know. But if I don’t, tell my mom I loved her. Tell Lexa. Tell her that I…” 

Kate let her head loll to her left and away from Lexa so she couldn’t see the big smile that grew. It might have been overly dramatic, but Lexa couldn’t help but silently play along.

“Kate! Oh god no! I never had the chance to tell her. I never got to say that I…”

“That you what?” Kate said, whipping her head back around revealing her smile to Lexa.

“That I… can’t wait for you to tell me if you can make it to the sleep over at Raven’s this Friday. You said you could tell me today.” Lexa laughed as she fell on the grass next to Kate to look upward at the sky and the passing clouds above. She couldn’t help but shuffle in a little closer so their hands could intertwine and send a shock though both of the girls.

During practice, Lexa had tried to run alongside Kate during the final run that had them laid out as they were right now but knowing Indra was likely watching, Kate warned Lexa to “run faster or your mom will kick all our asses even more”. Having already been the reason last week the team had to do sprints, Lexa didn’t want to upset any of her teammates more than she already and that meant she had to put some distance between herself and Kate who, try as she might just couldn’t keep up such a hard pace.

“I’m convinced your mom doesn’t like any of us.”

Lexa let out a laugh at her suggestion and wanted to tilt her head to give her a kiss but with so many eyes on the two of them as the hottest gossip for the team, her nerves got the better of her and she wound moving so she could rest her head on Kate’s stomach. 

Neither of them were sure how Indra would react to PDA on the field when she was running a practice even though they’d shared a few touches and yes, some of the contact during drills had been less than accidental which gave them the feeling they were getting away with something and making it more exciting. Of course, they weren’t fooling anyone.

“She’s not wrong, though.” Lexa grinned and fell alongside Kate. “Cardio is important.”

“I finally managed to switch my shift on Saturday to the evening and my mom says I can stay after practice on Friday.” Kate said, changing the subject back to Lexa’s comment about the sleepover in an effort to avoid talking about anything to do with cardio and running. 

“That is great! I’ll let Rae and everyone know you are coming. I’ll warn you, they will probably tease us both all night.”

“I’m sure I can handle a little bit of teasing. It comes with the territory.” 

“Do you still have to get the equipment this week?” Kate asked.

“Not anymore. Ava has to get it this week and I have to do towel and locker room clean up after everyone is done.”

“C’mon, Kate, give’er a kiss and lets get going so we can get back and shower.” said one of the girls from Tondc who was walking toward the pair.

“Yeah, yeah.” Kate’s shy smile appeared and she rolled her eyes at her approaching friend. “Lexa, this officially is my best friend, Claire. Claire, Lexa.”

Now that she was standing beside them, Claire did her best to try to size-up Lexa by giving her what was clearly meant to be a best friend glare. After a moment or two, Kate leaned her shoulder into her friend and it caused Claire cracked a smile and dropped her stern appearance. 

“So Lexa, do you know you are responsible for Kate’s inability to do anything but smile all week? That or her constant need to talk about what you and your friends did to help us out on Saturday?”

Lexa’s eyes darted back to Kate to see her quickly avert her eyes. It was fine because if they spoke to Clarke, Raven or anyone within earshot of her the last four days, it was the same for Lexa talking about Kate.

“It’s ok. She’s done the same to me.” Lexa took Kate’s hand and offered a squeeze to reassure her.

“Ug. The pair you two make. Too cute.” Claire teasingly shook her head while smiling. “Anyway, the next time you are in Tondc, the three of us should hang out. It’d be nice to get to know you better now that you are shacking up with my bestie.”

“Claire! I told you, we’re not…” Kate couldn’t help looking back and forth between Lexa and Claire. She didn’t want Lexa to think she was spreading any sort of rumour. 

“God Kate. Too easy.” Claire laughed as she spun on her heel and headed off toward the bus. “Glad to see you again, Lexa. Tell your mom to take it easy on us tomorrow!”

“See you, Claire. No promises on her taking it easy, though.” They both watched Claire skip away toward the bus clearly happy with riling Kate up a bit.

“I’m so sorry!” Kate’s face was a mix of shock and embarrassment. 

“It’s alright. If you think that was something, wait until we’re stuck in a house with Raven. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘moderation’.”

“This sucks to have to get on the bus. I wish I was a Polis student.” Kate said, leaning in to Lexa to rest her head on her shoulder and nuzzling into her neck. 

“I don’t want you to either but at least we can Face-time later. Then it’s just one more practice and you get stay.” Lexa’s optimistic tone helped to lift Kate’s spirits. “I have a study group until six so I should be home by six thirty or so.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I bet Raven isn’t half as bad you suggest.” Kate said, lifting her head from Lexa’s shoulder and giving Lexa a quick kiss.

“She’s not bad at all. She’s probably my best friend but I am sure there will be teasing. That much I can guarantee.”

“I’ll have you there to protect me. I’ll be fine.”

Lexa leaned in and this time when their lips touched, it wasn’t a quick kiss and it wasn’t an accident their bodies moved closer together. It wasn’t until the shouts from the bus became obnoxiously loud with teasing that they pulled apart and opened their eyes.

“The rides home are going to be torture.” Kate said.

“They are going to tease you about this?” Lexa asked, leaning in and giving her another quick peck.

“Only for the first thirty minutes. I just have to wait it out until they find someone else new to tease. Maybe one of the girls will start dating someone and they’ll shift their focus on them instead.” 

Kate looked down then back up at Lex after almost letting go of her hand, letting their fingers dance together for a moment. “But, I really should go. I’ll see you tonight?”

“And every night after I hope.” Lexa pulled Kate back and gave her one last kiss before they parted.

“Smooth, Lexa.” Kate grinned. “I can’t wait. See you later, Lex!” With that, Kate turned and started to run off toward the bus.

“Kate, wait.” Lexa reached forward and grabbed Kate’s hand so she would turn back around.

“Yeah?” 

“Two things. First, do you think Claire would like to come to the sleep over?”

“I’m sure she’d love it. She is always asking me about you and your friends. This way she could get a chance to actually meet them. What’s number two?”

Lexa leaned forward and gave Kate another kiss, pulling her into her body by wrapping her arms around her and tugging her forward and after a not-so-short moment, she pulled back and both of them had a slight daze in their eyes. The bus behind them erupted with whistles and Kate pouted knowing she had to go but promised she would be online by the time Lexa was home from her study group.

“Second, if they want to tease you, I wanted us to give them a good reason to.”

Kate was kind of dazed, but she had a silly grin on her face. “I like the way you think and hopefully that will get me through the trip home.”

“I hope so too. You’d better get going, it looks like they want to take off without you.” Lexa pointed at the bus whose passenger door just closed causing Kate to shriek and sprint off, yelling goodbye to Lexa as she sprinted toward what she believed were her impatient teammates.

She watched the bus depart and when Lexa turned around, there was nobody from her team left on the field and the boys football practice had begun. When she saw Lincoln and he saw her, she offered him a wave and then made her way to the locker room to get showered and changed so she could join everyone in the library after cleaning up the locker room. 

~*~*~

“Thanks again for letting me join you guys.” Claire said, thanking Raven who had come to the door to let in the trio of Lexa, Kate and Claire. Raven made sure to introduce Kate and Claire to Anya who was rifling around in the kitchen drawers in search of something and after instructed them all to deposit their sleeping bags in the basement where they’d all be sleeping. 

When they got downstairs, Kate and Claire were equally in awe of the entertainment room in the basement. The first thing they noticed was the pool table because it was the largest item in the main room. Off to the side, the leather chairs and couch that Lexa and everyone had played Mario Cart on. Kate looked around for the television and saw there was a projector hanging from he roof toward a plain white wall.

‘These people are rich!’ Kate thought to herself as her eyes scanned the walls of the basement. She would have been lying if anyone asked her if meeting Lexa’s friends she wasn’t going to feel a little uncomfortable about her circumstances versus theirs. There were reminders of sports memorabilia hanging on the walls in fancy wooden frames or on a shelf encased in glass boxes.

“Are we allowed to touch anything down here? I’m afraid I’ll break anything I touch.” Claire asked, her eyes taking in the same landscape as Kate and equally as shocked.

“Even Rae isn’t allowed to touch anything. Her father has spent the last thirty years collecting everything in this room and almost all of it he had autographed when he went to the games.” Clarke said.

“Thirty years?” Kate asked, reverence in her voice for the man’s dedication.

“Yeah. A few of the things are Rae’s, like the autographed soccer ball over there. It’s signed by the entire Sky Blue FC squad but I warn you not to get her started on it or she will talk about it all night.”

Both Kate and Claire laughed, but it was likely one of them was going to ask her about it. Claire rightly assumed it would be her because she knew where Kate’s focus was going to be for the night.

“We can play pool, though?” Kate asked, only because there was a cover over top of It.

Clarke smiled and told them that anyone can play when they feel like it and Claire couldn’t help but tease Kate about having Lexa give her a lesson or two which drew a knowing grin from Clarke.

“If there’s anyone who can teach you pool, it’s Lexa. She destroyed Octavia’s brother and I’d never seen him lose a game until that night. If you do play one on one, please let me know so I can be upstairs when it happens.” Clarke offered a conspiratorial wink to Claire while winning an embarrassed look from Kate.

Clarke said suggested they all head back upstairs and they could see Lexa and Raven laughing on a couch and a seemingly upset Octavia sitting on one of the lounge chairs across from them. Anya could be heard moving about in the kitchen.

“You have a pool table in your basement.” Claire declared when she entered the living room.

“Yeah. My parents thought it would be a great addition if they had parties and people wanted to unwind they could go down there and just have it be a place they could sit and relax with a beer or a glass of wine. The video games and other electronics were my idea since I kind of took it over.” Raven explained. 

“Well, it’s awesome down there.” Claire’s excitement showed in her voice.

“Hey, what’s up with O?” Clarke asked.

“She’s upset Lincoln is busy tonight and can’t come over to visit.” Lexa said, getting up and approaching Kate to give her hug and a small peck on her lips.

“He’s going out of town with the guys for some out in nature-type tradition they do every year. All the players that made it go out with the coaches and they talk about the upcoming season, eat barbecue and go swimming in some awesome lake.” Octavia sighed after having to say the words.

“We should do that too.” Raven suggested. “This was kind of impromptu. Getting the girls from Tondc and Polis to figure out schedules might be tougher. Maybe we could try to convince the coaches to do something during mid-season break?”

“It is worth a shot. The worst Indra could say is no, right?” Octavia agreed, looking directly at Lexa as if she was the one who was supposed to bring it up to her mother on behalf of the team.

Lexa rolled her eyes and took a sip of the bottled water in her hand. “I’ll ask, but I can’t promise anything because I think I cashed in any favour I had last weekend by staying in Tondc until 2am.”

“Alright, everyone.” Anya said, walking in to the living room with a stack of take-out menus and dropped them and making an event of dropping the stack down on the coffee table between everyone. “We better order some food before Rae and O turn into crazed animals.” Pausing for a moment, she turned to Claire and Kate. “I don’t know either of you well enough to say what you are like when you are hangry, but there are a number of menu’s to pick from so feel free to pick whatever you’d like.”

“Except anything vegetable-based.” Raven declared.

“So you guys aren’t following Coach Woods’ menu plan?” Claire asked, looking around the room at everyone who had begun to sort through the tri-fold menus from various restaurants.

“Not on a sleep over we’re not. You can be certain Lexa is likely going to try to pick something healthy. It’s like she had a phobia of eating like a teenager.” Raven added, spying Lexa who was looking through a pita wrap menu and was spying her right back.

“Ten bucks says Kate eats the same as what Lexa orders.” Raven suggested, leaning over toward Clarke who has a small smile on her face.

“Twenty says she orders the wrap, but eats a different one.” Clarke amended the bet.

“You’re on.” Raven shook Clarke’s hand and Kate looked up at them wondering what they were conspiring about. She couldn’t help but feel that their action seemed familiar for some reason.

“Food’s all here!” Raven shouted from the kitchen after making her way back from the front door with another armful of food.

As she put down the brown bag of food and began emptying the contents of steaming trays and cardboard containers of various noodles and rice, everyone walked into the room to see an overwhelmingly large amount of food spread out on the counters.

“How are we going to eat all this?” Kate asked while she looked around at the assortment of food that awaited them.

“It’s not about quantity, it’s variety.” Octavia said. “This way everyone can have a little of everything and if you’ve never tried something before, you have the chance now.”

“But there’s so much.” Claire added.

“Not if we pick at it all night and if there’s anything left over that someone likes, they can take it home in the morning. That way it won’t go to waste.” Anya explained, reaching forward and grabbing a couple plates to hand them to the pair of newcomers.

“Did you know she would order so much?” Kate whispered to Lexa who had picked up a plate of her own. By now, everyone was roaming around the kitchen and conversing loudly and laughter filled the kitchen at jokes being told.

“My first sleepover here as well. This is… a lot of food.” Lexa said, picking up a portion of one of the wraps she ordered and placed it on her plate. Kate could see there were a few types of wraps and decided to go for the Thai-chicken wrap rather than the vegetable ones they’d both ordered.

“Where are we going to eat?” Claire asked Raven who was busy piling a very tall and unstable mound of noodles onto her plate.

“I think the patio might be the best place. There’s enough seating out there and I’m sure my parents would kill me if we got any stains on the furniture in the living room like we did last time.”

“Works for me Rae but if I recall, it was you that made the mess on the couch the last time.” Clarke reminded her.

“You are probably right.” Raven shrugged as she grabbed a spring roll from one of the cardboard containers and took a bite and suggested everyone try the spring rolls because they were still somewhat fresh.

Claire smiled and reached for some of the Shanghai noodles to pile on her own plate and then grabbed one of the rolls on Raven’s advice before turning and heading in the direction of the patio.

As everyone started to make their way outside and dug into their meals, Lexa and Kate were sitting off to the side, both with a different assortment of food on their plates. On purpose or not, they spent their time eating from the others plate while talking quietly between themselves unless their names came up in conversation. When Kate lifted her wrap and took a bite, Clarke declared herself the victor with a triumphant shout which drew all eyes to her.

“Twenty bucks, Rae!”

“Yeah, yeah.” She said, digging in her shorts pocket and pulling out the bill and slapped it into Clarke’s hand. “It should have been a no contest because I ordered multiple types of wraps. She ordered a veggie one just like Lexa did.”

“Bet’s a bet Rae.” Clarke stuffed the bill into her pocket and set herself back on the task of eating her slice of pizza.

“You did not bet on what it was we were deciding to eat for dinner.” Lexa said, looking at Clarke and Raven in disbelief. 

“Not exactly. I figured that Kate and you would order and eat the same thing, Clarke suggested that if another type of wrap was introduced into the mix that Kate might take the chance and select it rather than a plain, and might I add gross, veggie wrap.” Raven shrugged then took a big bite of the noodles she’s stabbed with her fork. 

“I took a guess that your better judgement might have been clouded because of your proximity to miss hot-shot soccer star there.” Clarke grinned at Kate while pointing at Lexa.

Kate blushed slightly and hid her eyes by looking down at her plate, picking up the wrap and taking a good sized bite from it. Once she was done shewing she swallowed and nodded. “It is ‘so’ much better than a straight veggie wrap.”

“I couldn’t leave you to suffer through a veggie wrap like that. What kind of a friend would I be?” Raven asked, drawing a smile from Kate who was happy to hear Raven accept her as a friend so quickly.

“So, after dinner we start the Mario Cart tournament?” Clarke asked, looking around at everyone. When Octavia and Raven both groaned in unison, Lexa laughed knowing what was coming. She was never going to forget the absolute domination Clarke exhibited during Raven’s party.

“Why? What’s up with Mario Cart?” Claire asked, looking confused at everyone’s reaction. 

“Clarke here is the reigning and defending champion. She takes the game pretty seriously.” Octavia answered.

“Is that so?” Claire asked. Her voice was a little too innocent for Clarke’s liking so she regarded Claire with a curious gaze.

“As it turns out, Kate is an incredible Mario Cart player.”

Kate rapidly shook her head and tried to avoid eye contact with Clarke when her head spun around to question her friends claim. She didn’t want to start any drama, especially over a video game.

“I… might play it a bit.” Kate admitted with a slight shrug.

“Oh my god someone’s going to beat Clarke. Finally!” Raven cried out in joy and nearly spilled her plate of food in the process by throwing her arms up in the air.

“We’ll see about that.” Clarke said in a display of bravado.

“Twenty says she beats you.” Raven said, grinning at Clarke and patted the pocket she’d put the twenty dollars in moments ago.

“Deal.”

That Clarke didn’t amend the bet told Raven just how serious she was when it came to the game. Clarke always amended the bets to have a little caveat but this tie she was betting it straight.

“This isn’t going to get ugly, is it?” Anya asked as she looked back and forth between Clarke and Kate.

“It’s just a game.” Kate suggested, shrugging her shoulders. She couldn’t help but see the competitiveness flare in Lexa’s friend. Win or lose, it was going to make the night a lot more interesting. “I just play for fun.” she said, adding another log to the fire that burned in Clarke’s eyes.

~*~*~

“I’ll take that twenty back.” Raven held her hand out the moment Clarke dropped her controller to the floor.

“There’s no way she gets another blue shell that close to the end again. No way.” Clarke mumbled as she dug into her pocket to give Raven back her twenty dollars then she congratulated Kate on a race well won.

“When you guys all come to Tondc, you can get your revenge.” Kate suggested. “I don’t have a set up like this, but the games can get pretty crazy. I bet we’d end up playing again.”

“Challenge accepted. And Rae, I’m going to get my twenty bucks back so don’t spend it.”

“I gotta say, I never thought anyone would beat her. You are now officially invited to every future sleep over as long as you make Clarke look as stunned as she does right now.” Octavia laughed and picked up the remote to switch the input and load up Netflix. “Should we watch a movie?” 

“I think my eyes could use a break for a bit.” Clarke suggested which received unanimous agreement.

“I could use a drink. Should we all go upstairs?” Raven asked.

“I think I’m going to stay down here a little bit.” Lexa said but her attention was on Kate who smiled in agreement.

“Just don’t get all handsy on the furniture. I’m not watching a movie if it smells like sex down here.” Raven stated and gave the pair a look.

Try as they might, both Lexa and Kate failed to fight the feeling of embarrassment and their faces started to take on a what was becoming a familiar red tinge while they attempted to stammer out defences to Raven’s declaration.

“You were right. Way too easy.” Raven couldn’t help but grin at Claire who was now on the receiving end of Kate’s look of betrayal. 

Raven led all but Lexa and Kate upstairs, leaving the two in the basement by themselves. They’d all agreed before Lexa arrived with Kate and Claire that they would give the two time alone because they didn’t get to spend too much time together through the week. After hearing some giggling at the top of the stairs and a hushed conversation between the girls, they heard Octavia call down from the top of the stairs. “Remember, you two! Coach Woods says to drink lots of water, especially if you are going to be doing lots of cardio.”

The next thing they heard was the girls at the top of the stairs going into hysterics and their laughter filling what must have been the entire house. After a moment, the sound of laughter slowly disappearing as they moved away from the stairs and when Lexa and Kate were certain they were gone, they fell down on to the couch and the space between them vanished.

“How long until they want to watch a movie?” Kate asked, her fingertips tracing little patterns on the back of Lexa’s hands. Her hope was they’d have a significant amount of time to be alone.

“Too soon.” Lexa sighed, but it was through the smile that grew on her face when Kate’s hand took hers. She watched as Kate’s finger traced along the back of her hand in small swirls like she was writing something out. For Lexa, It was as if Kate’s finger was brought a symphony to life within her heart and Lexa wanted nothing more than to get swept away within it.

“You do?” Lexa asked, looking up at Kate who had stopped drawing on the back of Lexa’s hand. Kate answered through nervous brown eyes and a nod. “Me too.” Lexa agreed. 

Lexa reached forward and tucking some of Kate’s shoulder length hair behind her ear, then slid her hand her hand to the small of Kate’s neck to urge her forward. It was a movement Kate readily approved of and helped by leaning forward until their lips met for what would become a series of kisses that went on until they were both trying to catch their breath to start all over again.

“Alright you two, you had your time alone. Time for the movie.” Raven said, walking down the stairs to see Kate and Lexa quickly adjusting their clothes and trying to straighten their hair out when she got to the bottom.

“If you do, I’ll tell them about the time at we went to the mall and you thought it would be fun to ride the railing down the escalator.” Claire suggested, winking at Kate.

“There is an escalator story too?” Clarke asked with a grin. “I thought after what happened at the book store, she wouldn’t show her face at the mall for the rest of her life.”

“You told them about the book store?!” Hearing Clarke’s words in combination with her grin, Kate’s face drained itself of colour and she grabbed the throw from the back of the couch to bury her face in it.

“C’mon guys. Be nice.” Lexa said, pulling Kate into a hug while her face is buried in the blanket.

“Hey, it’s not like we didn’t tell Kate anything about you.” Octavia said.

“How do you know anything about me? I haven’t told you any stories…” Lexa couldn’t help but wonder who it was of the group that knew stories about her. She and Raven had become quite good friends, but she hadn’t told her any embarrassing stories… had she?

“I may have gotten a couple stories from a source I will not name.” Octavia’s voice was full of mischief which instantly gave Lexa an understanding of her source.

“You used Lincoln.” Lexa said, spying Octavia. “After what I did for the two of you.”

“I may have asked what life was like back in Arkadia and what kind of things you guys did to have fun. You and your brother are pretty close so I assumed you two got into a fair bit of trouble together.”

“Octavia, what did you do?”

“Me? Nothing.” Octavia raised her hands as if to proclaim her innocence. “But in honour of someone’s particular fear of horror movies, I think we should make that the second movie we watch.”

Lexa grabbed a hold of the throw that Kate was hiding her face in and used it to cover them completely. As they were hidden from everyone in the room, Kate looked over at Lexa and asked the question she knew was coming.

“You are afraid of horror movies?”

“Yes. Well, not now but it happened when I was seven and I was too afraid to get up and go to the washroom by myself. The house was really dark and I couldn’t help it.” Lexa whispered to Kate under what she hoped was her blanket of secrecy. That was until Claire yanked it off the pair exposing them to everyone in the room.

“We get it, Lex. You were a kid.” Clarke said to try to reassure the beet-red girl who moments ago tried to hide from the world. “These things happen.”

“But.. if you have to go to the bathroom, I’ll take you.” Octavia added while trying not to laugh. “We don’t want another accident.”

Lexa groaned and rolled her eyes while mumbling something about killing Lincoln when she got home.

“Think we should grab some food and drinks before the movie?” Anya asked before everyone had settled in for the first movie of the night and everyone was in agreement that it was a good idea.

“Good idea. There’s some chips and other snacks in the cupboard. And don’t worry Lexa, We got some fresh veggies all chopped up and rinsed off for you too.” Raven said.

“Thanks. I’ll come up and grab them. Can I get you anything?” Lexa asked Kate who was still sitting on the couch.

“Maybe a bottle of coke?”

“Done.” Lexa smiled and ran up the stairs as she did at home, two at a time until she reached the top.

“Can you grab me one too, Raven? I want to hang out here for a minute with Kate.” Claire asked.

“Will do!” 

Everyone had left the basement except for Kate and Claire, who were now both sitting next to each other on the couch.

“So?” Claire asked.

“I haven’t told her yet and I don’t want to do it if I don’t know if it is going to go through. I mean, we haven’t even been on a real first date yet.” Kate said. “Besides, until I know for sure I don’t want to get my hopes up too much.”

“Well, when do you find out for sure?”

“My mom said she’ll know by the end of the month if everything goes as she planned. What do you think Lexa will say?” 

“By the way she looks at you every time you two are together? I think she’ll blow her top. It just sucks you won’t be around as much any more. I never thought you would have to move away.”

“Who is moving away?” Raven said as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, an assortment of sodas in her arms that she walked over to the small table in between the couch and lounging chairs in the room.

“Nobody.” Claire said a little too quickly. “Just a friend in Tondc who might be moving in a few months.”

“Ah.” Raven said, looking back and forth between the pair on the couch for a second and then shrugging. “Well, we’ve got a bunch of different kids of pop. There is some juice in the fridge if you’d prefer but it’s in a pitcher and you’d need to grab a glass.”

“That’s great Raven, thanks.” Claire said, getting up from the couch but not before getting a warning glare from Kate along with a small shake of her head.

Once everyone was downstairs or at least almost everyone, Lexa noticed there was a chair open and Clarke wasn’t in the room.

“Where’s Clarke?” she asked.

“She is just talking to Finn on the phone. They were supposed to be doing something this weekend and they are trying to figure it out.” Anya explained while Octavia flipped through the saved movies on Netflix.

“So what do we want? Drama? Sci-fi? Action or animated?” Octavia asked everyone in the room.

The question sparked a marathon debate between everyone in the room as it always did, everyone describing what in their mind was the perfect movie for a sleep over. It wasn’t until Anya suggested they write down two of the movies they’d like to see on a scrap of paper, drop it into a cup then draw two which would be the movies they’d watch. Good or bad.

When the first one was selected, Anya read out “Jumanji” while holding up the peice of paper to show the big bold writing that said “1995” next to it a heart with Robin Williams name in the middle of it.

“Looks like Raven’s movie is the first pick.” Anya smiled, as Raven threw fist pumps in the air.

“You guys are in for a classic!” Raven shouted as she took her seat in one of the wide chairs and patted the seat next to her to get Anya to join her. After grabbing a couple soda’s from the table and one of the many blankets piled up in front of the table, she took her seat next to Raven.

“Should we wait for Clarke?” Octavia asked before pressing play on the remote.

“She might be a little while. She said to just go ahead and will come down when they are done so they will probably be a little while.” Raven said.

They all found their seats and like Raven and Anya, Kate and Lexa were cuddled up under a blanket with an assortment of snacks and drinks laid out around them. They were less concerned about the movie playing in front of them than they were about the way their fingers danced under the blankets or the way they tried but failed to be discreet about sneaking little kisses that always turned into more. 

Both Claire and Octavia teased the pair mercilessly and they were joined by Clarke in their effort when she returned to the basement. That was until Raven and Anya made both Kate and Lexa promise to tone down their make-out session and pay attention to the movie that was “comedic gold” as Raven had put it.

By the time Octavia’s pick of the second movie, ‘Scott Pilgrim Versus the World’ was nearly over, everyone was either nearly asleep or already there so Anya moved around the room to make sure everyone that was not in their sleeping bag was covered in a blanket. 

She returned to the over-sized chair that Raven had set to lie flat and took one last look at the bodies in the room before powering down the projector. She couldn’t help but smile at how Lexa and Kate seemed nearly glued to each other. From what little she knew of Lexa’s past by the small details Raven would tell her, she certainly deserved the all the good fortune that had come her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I know there isn't any "real" Clarke and Lexa in this chapter but the next one has a bunch in it! I promise!


	21. Below the Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With things getting busy for everyone in Polis, Raven finds herself struggling with her situation. Clarke and Lexa spend some time together and talk a little about Polis and how things have been for both of them since summer ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update! Get your Update! Update!
> 
> Here is a little bit of Clarke and Lexa I've been promising. This started as a 5 page chapter then I went a little crazy on it and my fingers just wouldn't stop typing! Kind of like this note. I could and probably should have ended it before this point.
> 
> Well? What are you still doing here? Go read the next chapter!

“So, it’s Friday. What’s up this weekend?” Raven asked everyone who was seated at the familiar lunch spot between the parking lot and the athletic fields. The look on everyone’s faces indicated that another weekend would go by with everyone being too busy to get together. With midterms fast approaching, everyone was going into lock down mode. Even Lexa whose marks were head-and-shoulders above everyone but Raven’s found herself starting to stress about the coming exams.

“We’ve got the dinner with my parents Saturday.” Anya reminded her with a gentle nudge of her shoulder and a smile.

“I know, but we can still do something tonight. Or Saturday night after.” Raven suggested.

“Well, Lexa and I now have an extra essay we have to do thanks to John.” Clarke stated, glaring at Murphy who was sitting on his familiar spot on the fence just behind them. Emori glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Name’s Murphy.” he grumbled.

“What did you do, John?”

“I might have told Mr. Kane that there’s today’s generation has nothing to learn from old writers who don’t have things like the internet and cable t.v. and then he decided to make everyone write a paper about the book we’re reading for Monday.”

Emori shook her head with a smile. “So now your whole class hates you?”

“Nah, Just these two.” He shrugged with a small grin and proceeded to take a bite of his sandwich. “Everyone else thinks I’m great.”

“Uh-huh.” Emori suggested with a laugh.

“Anyone? Ideas?” Raven tried again. “Octavia? Lincoln? Monty?”

They all gave their reasons as to why they couldn’t make it, from homework or family obligations, the apologies were said for not being able to hang out at Raven’s on the weekend. Raven knew Harper and Monty had a “sort-of” thing going on between them so when Monty said they were going to be busy, she didn’t want to get in the way of the pair and didn’t ask for their reason. She only thought ‘ _Finally_ ’ and sighed with resignation that she wouldn’t be doing much.

Anya reached over and took her hand to offer her a little support but she didn’t get a squeeze back in reply which caused her to regard Raven with curiosity. Even Clarke looked on but she did her best to make it seem as though she wasn’t aware that Raven was disappointed.

“Maybe after midterms. We could have another party but invite all the girls from Tondc? That or go there? Maybe tonight after practice we can talk to them unless you can text Kate about it now so she can pass the word around..” Raven asked with renewed optimism.

“Sure. I’ll text her now and she can ask some of the girls. Any news on a canceled practice tonight?” Lexa asked, looking up to the sky where the clouds that hung overhead were heavy and dark.

“I heard we might be in the gym, but Coach Travers said it wouldn’t make sense for the Tondc girls to come all this way if it’s going to rain.” Octavia said.

“I’ll can give my mom a call before the end of lunch.” Lexa offered.

“Don’t bother.” Harper said, having made her way from the athletic offices next to the gym. “It’s canceled. Apparently there is a chance of lightning and as entertaining as it would be to play Russian-roulette with everyone, they don’t want one of us to end up crispy.”

Lexa realized girls from Tondc wouldn’t be arriving and her phone was in her hands seconds after Harper explained to see if Kate had heard the news. They wouldn’t be able to spend the evening together tonight as was planned if she couldn’t get a ride on the team bus.

“I have to go to the mall on Sunday. We could do that when you get back from Tondc.” Clarke suggested, looking at Raven.

“I need to go. The three of us could go and hang out in the afternoon?” Lexa said with her eyes still looking down at her cell. Talking to Kate and listening in to everyone’s conversations was a skill she was becoming quite adept at. After a moment she looked up and across at Clarke then over at Lincoln with a glare. “I have to go get a couple things. Don’t I, big brother?”

“Hey. I didn’t know there was a pen in the load I washed. My shirts were all black before the wash.” Lincoln explained.

“Yeah, and now almost all my running clothes are ruined.”

“How about you give me a call when you get back. Rae? Are you in? You, me and Lexa?” Clarke asked.

“Nah.” Raven said with little excitement. “Everyone having to get work done has me thinking maybe I should finish off some chem. I’ve been slacking at it lately and I can’t let Monty get the highest mark in the class.”

“Alright. If you change you mind, just let me or Lexa know.”

“I will.”

The rest of the lunch went well, aside from Raven’s unusual decree that she needed to get caught up on her class load. Anya didn’t spend a lot of time looking at Raven because she didn’t want to draw attention to whatever it was but she knew her girlfriend was always on top of her classwork. Often times, she was well beyond everyone in her classes aside from Monty.

The afternoon bell played it’s song calling the students back to the first of their afternoon classes which left Raven seated at the tables and because she hadn’t moved, Anya stayed as well. Lexa looked at Raven with concern before silently asking Anya if she should stick around with a look. Anya offered a slight head shake which led Lexa to say her goodbyes so she could hustle off to the school’s side entrance.

“Hun?”

Raven pressed a few buttons on her cell then slid it into her bag after looking at the time.

“Rae?”

“Yeah?”

“Is everything ok?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“When Clarke asked you if you wanted to hang out when she could, you said no.”

“I just don’t want to go to the mall.” Raven said, not looking at Anya as she usually did during their conversations. Her eyes were staring a hole in her backpack at the moment.

After a couple moments, Anya spoke again with her hand now pressed on Ravens back and moving in small circles. “Hun.” Do you want to take the afternoon off with me?”

Raven pulled in a sharp, shaky breath and a line of moisture began to line the bottom of her eye lids. After some time, she turned and nodded at Anya as she bit her lower lip and a tear rolled down her cheek. Anya pulled Raven into her and gave her a hug, feeling Raven’s heart racing in her chest and her fight to keep from crying.

“It’s ok.” Anya cooed as she continued to hug Raven. After about ten minutes, she could feel Raven loosen her grip on her and she pulled her head back so they could look each other in the eye. “We are gonna go back to you place, ok?”

“Can we go to yours?” Raven said, her face buried in Anya’s shoulder.

“Wherever you want.”

Raven’s eyes were swollen and red from crying and she only nodded in response.

“Come on. I’ll get your bag and I’ll let the office know later. Alright?”

Another nod.

Anya led Raven away to her car, knowing she would be leaving hers in the lot until she could comeback later and retrieve it. Helping Raven into the passenger seat and handing her her backpack which she wrapped her arms around and squeezed it in a tight hug.

Anya had driven Raven home, took her in the house where they kicked off their footwear and left them all over, Anya explaining she would clean it up shorty. The same for their packs and the hoodie Raven threw on the stairs as Anya led her to her room. When she got Raven to her bed, she looked exhausted.

“I’m going to get some water. Ok?” Anya said.

“Just a while?” Raven asked, her voice as small as she seemed now laying down on her bed in a tiny ball with her hand reaching out for her girlfriend.

She didn’t say anything else, she just climbed into the bed which allowed Raven to wrap her arms around her and huff out a tiny breath of contentment.

When Raven had managed to fall asleep and her breathing came out in calm and steady breaths, Anya slowly pulled herself from her girlfriends arms, arms which grabbed the closest pillow and pulled it to her chest, Anya pulled her cellphone from her pocket and stepped out into the hallway and dialed the school while picking up the clothing that was strewn on the floor.

“Hi, Mrs. Davies? This is Anya - yes, I brought her home. She’s here now. Yes, I’ll make sure her parents know. Thank you.”

~*~*~

”Hey Lex, How was Tondc?”

Lexa ducked her head into Clarke’s car and she was drenched. The short run from her front door to car was merciless and Lexa swore when she sat down that every rain drop possible had found it’s way to her hair and jacket.

“Cold and wet. They canceled the kids games because the rain kept coming down. It was pretty funny to watch the kids try to play in the rain. As it happened, the field they play on turns into a giant mud-pit and children have no sense of balance in the mud.”

“That much have been hilarious.” Clarke laughed.

“It was pretty funny. Half the parents who went to get their kids up from the mud to take them home ended up on the ground as well. I’m pretty sure there’s still mud in places it doesn’t belong and I showered twice.” Lexa laughed along with Clarke.

“At least you got home early. Did you see Kate?”

“She had to work this weekend. She said she needed to get in as many shifts at her mom’s diner as she could before midterms.”

“Unngh.” Clarke groaned. “Midterms are coming _way_ too fast.”

“I know. I just hope they don’t throw a lot at us this week. We have a really big game against Arkadia High on Wednesday and I really want to be able to focus on the game.”

“Do a lot of your old friends play for the school?”

“Not really.” Lexa took a moment and after the raindrops on the car were the only thing heard, Lexa decided Clarke deserved more of an explanation than that. “I… I didn’t really have a lot of friends back in Arkadia. Not like here.”

“I don’t believe that. Who wouldn’t give their left arm to be your friend?” Clarke momentarily shot her a look as if she had grown a second head but her eyes quickly went back to the road because the rain was really coming down. They pulled into the mall parking lot and thanks to the weather, they were able to get a spot close to one of the entrances.

“Ready to run?” Clarke asked looking through the driver-side window at the torrent of water running down it.

“Let’s go!” Lexa shouted, throwing open her door and pulling her jacket up over her head to protect her hair from the onslaught.

The pair screamed and sprinted toward the entrance and because Lexa got there first, she released her jacket and yanked to door open, watching Clarke sprint past her and into the brightly lit mall. Lexa was right behind her and after they were a few feet inside the shelter of the building they started to laugh. They were soaked nearly head-to-toe and the pair agreed that their mall adventure would require hot chocolate before any purchases could be made so Clarke led Lexa to the food court and the closest coffee shop.

“So, where to first?” Clarke asked, taking a sip from her steaming peppermint hot chocolate and savouring the sweetness with a contented sigh.

They agreed on Lexa getting her shirts, then they would wander the mall a bit just in case thee was anything they wanted that they hadn’t quite thought of yet. Of course, this concept was quite foreign to Lexa who studied Clarke with a curious eye. Lexa had never wandered a mall for fun because when she shopped, she went and picked up specific items she needed. Clarke laughed, explaining that “She has so much to learn about mall shopping” and tugged Lexa by her hand in order to convince her to follow.

After an hour, they’d been in almost all the stores in the mall but the ones they had planned, trying on a number of clothes neither Lexa or Clarke had any intention of buying. That was until they went into the costume jewelry shop and came across a pair of wide-rimmed, green plastic sunglasses Clarke demanded Lexa owned because she looked “boss” in them. Lexa laughed and steadfastly refused to buy them because as she stated, “I look like Kermit the frog in these glasses, Clarke”.

Of course, that didn’t stop Clarke from buying them and giving them to Lexa as a gift because “You can’t refuse a gift from a friend.” she explained while stepping forward and placed the pair on Lexa’s head so that they would rest in her hair with the arms of the glasses going behind her ears. “There! Now let’s should go get your shirts.”

“We aren’t going to get you some glasses?”

“No way. Besides, it has to be spontaneous.”

Lexa spied Clarke suspiciously but before she knew it, Clarke was heading out of the store with a skip in her step.

“Lex, they are just shirts you are going to run in. Can’t tee shirts do the job?” Clarke asked as Lexa flipped through the racks of girls shirts.

“Quiet or I’ll buy you one and because it’s a running shirt, you’ll have to come running with me.” Lexa warned her. “Actually, that’s a great idea! It’s spontaneous.” Lexa couldn’t help but grin watching Clarke glare back at her with amusement in her eyes.

“Those glasses make you look awesome and running would make me look tired. Have you ever bought anyone a gift before? Gifts are supposed to make people happy.”

“Running isn’t bad.”

“That depends. Running from the rain is one thing. Running for the sake of getting from one point to another? No thanks.” Clarke dramatically shook her head. “I prefer a car for that. I’m a child of technology.”

“You are older than I am Clarke.”

“That makes me wiser too. Listen to the wisdom of your elders.”

Lexa let out a sharp laugh. “My elder? You are seven months older than I am.”

“And I have a drivers license. That means I’m wiser.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Clarke.”

“Then you’ll just have to trust me then, young one.”

Lexa laughed and turned back to the rack she had been looking through. After picking a few different ones, she couldn’t help but look at the tags. Her parents told her to pick up whatever she wanted but she still didn’t see the need to pay $80 dollars for a shirt she went running in.

She tried them on, modelling each of them for Clarke who said she could offer her expert opinion on fashion. Not surprising to Lexa, Clarke had gone and grabbed a few other running shirts and had them hanging on the hook beside her dressing room door.

“Clarke, I can’t try on the entire store.” Lexa explained when she stepped from her dressing room.

“Three. Try on three and tell me those won’t be more comfortable.”

“Fine. Just three. Then we can go to your store.”

“Deal.”

Lexa tried on the shirts and Clarke she found herself quiet after Clarke told her they made her look “hot”. The compliment resulted in Lexa’s face turning a crimson shade when she looked at herself in the tall vertical mirror.

They were certainly not picks Lexa would have selected because they were too tight compared to the majority of her clothes and two, she wasn’t quite as pronounced in the chest as Clarke was and that made her quite self-conscious. It was almost enough to hear Clarke says she should get them but she knew they would just end up sitting in the back of her closet and unused. She would never waste money like that, not after all Indra and Gustus had done for her and Lincoln.

Clarke didn’t press when she say Lexa becoming uncomfortable when she hung them back up on the rack Clarke had gotten them from. The last thing she wanted to do was make Lexa feel uncomfortable or ruin the fun time they’d been having.

“Do you want to grab dinner after the art shop? It won’t take me long to grab a couple brushes and some paints.” Clarke asked.

“Sure,” Lexa said after pondering whether or not she should phone home to ask if they’d planned dinner. Knowing she was going to the mall, they might have assumed Lexa was going to eat there.

“I’m sure your parents would be ok with it. We’re kids at a mall.” Clarke reasoned, as if she could read Lexa’s thoughts.

“Probably, Besides, there’s a sushi place here I would like to try.”

“I’ve got so much work ahead of me with you.” Clarke dramatically sighed while grabbing Lexa’s hand land leading her across the mall to the store she wanted to visit. Lexa couldn’t help but smell the fragrances emanating out of the shop just next to the store Clarke ran into.

“Clarke, I’m just going to go in there for a second. Is that alright?”

“Of course. There isn’t much in here and if I spend too long in here, my parents will get mad I’ve spent all their money on canvasses and paints.”

“Alright. I won’t be long either.”

Lexa looked up at the name that hung over the Entrance and read ‘ _Rebecca’s Candles and Scents_ ’. She took her first steps into the store and before she knew it, Clarke was standing beside her as she lifted a little candle up and sniffed at it. When she put it down she realized Clarke was there and jumped with a start.

“Clarke! You were quick.”

“I was thirty minutes which means you must have smelled every candle in this place.”

“I wasn’t looking at my watch. I’ll just pay for these and we can go get dinner.” Lexa offered, pointing to the basket in her hand.

“Did you plan on leaving candles for anyone else?” Clarke laughed at the dozen scented candles and stack of small wax tea lights that filled her basket.

“They help me relax.” Lexa volunteered.

“If you need someone to talk to about this addiction, just let me know. My mom knows a lot of people who can help with this sort of thing.” Clarke grinned.

“Whatever.” Lexa rolled her eyes at Clarke’s suggestion. “I’ll pay for these and we can go.”

“Can they help carry it out to the car?”

“Clarke…”

“Maybe double-bag those just in case?”

“Clarke…” Lexa said again with a groan.

They took their seats in the food court of Polis Mall and started in on the meals they ordered. Clarke, her slice of pizza and Lexa her eight pieces of Sushi which the man behind the counter swore were made fresh today when Lexa asked after careful examination of his product.

“So how have things been since the move?” Clarke asked between bites of her pizza.

“Things have been really great. I was lucky that I met Raven and she introduced me to you and everyone else. It’s made the move a lot easier than I’d thought it would be.”

“You thought we would be like those kids in Arkadia?”

“My family wasn’t very rich and my parents were working hard which left Lincoln and I alone a lot. Being adopted made us both targets for some of the kids who thought that being adopted meant nobody really wanted us. Moving here, I didn’t know what to expect.”

“Really? God Lex, I’m sorry.” Clarke said, reaching across the table and giving Lexa a reassuring squeeze of her hand. “People can be such dicks.”

“I think the first night I got to meet everyone at Raven’s party was the first time I thought things might turn out alright. I mean, Bellamy was a bit of an ass but I know how to handle guys like that.”

“That was easily the coolest thing to happen at one of our parties aside from numerous visits from the police or fire trucks.”

“I thought that was just a joke about Raven starting things on fire.”

“Oh no. I’d say right now she’s going through a dry spell. She hasn’t lit anything on fire or blown anything up in the last two and a half months. I’m pretty sure this is a record.”

“Speaking of Raven, she wasn’t there after school on Friday.”

As Lexa asked, Clarke seemed to become a little uncomfortable with the topic at hand.

“She… well, I’m not sure I should talk about it. Raven is pretty private about what she really feels and doesn’t like to share. That kind of builds up on her. I think the best way I can say it is she holds things in for a really long time and it wears her down so.”

“I won’t push her to tell me, and I won’t mention our talk if you are worried about it. Raven is my friend too and I don’t like seeing her hurting.”

“We both will appreciate that. But, back to you and Polis. I swore I wasn’t going to like whoever moved into that house. Did you know that?”

“I didn’t.” Lexa studied Clarke as she continued.  
“Yeah. Wells was, is, my best friend and I had no idea that someone like you would be moving into his house. As it turns out you make it pretty hard to hate you.” Clarke smirked at Lexa.

“You wanted to hate me?”

“Not you per se, but who ever moved into the house that my best friend had to leave. I know it wasn’t your parents fault and it certainly wasn’t your fault. I just saw my friend leave and it’s hard to not visit that house every other day or hand out by the pool like we used to do.”

“We could do that.” Lexa suggested. “I know I’ll never replace your best friend, but you are always welcome to come over. My parents don’t mind.”

“I’ll make sure I do that. I’ll knock first, though. I used to just walk in before.”

“Is that why you haven’t come over a lot?”

“Maybe?”

“Clarke, we’re friends and I get that Wells used to live there but you can’t avoid my sleep overs any longer.”

“You haven’t had any sleep overs, Lexa. We usually go over to Raven’s place.”

“Well, next weekend I’m having one.”

“Oh? Who is invited?”

“Right now? You. I’ll deal with the other invitations later.”

Clarke smiled and took the last bite of her pizza. She could see the wheels spinning in Lexa’s mind and it always amused Clarke when her eyes lit up after getting an idea.

“What are you thinking?” Clarke asked before taking a sip of her soda.

“Can you stay here for a minute? I want to get something.” Lexa asked, but she was up out of her seat and running off into the direction of some stores in the mall.

“Why not? I’ll just hand out here. Talking to myself.” Clarke mumbled as she reached over and grabbed Lexa’s smoothie, curious about how it tasted. A curiosity she wished she didn’t have when the taste of orange-wheat grass smoothie hit her tongue which left her with a gagging reflex and the thought that they got the grass flavour right, but neither soy or orange flavour correct.

Lexa arrived in a flash, nearly skidding to a stop in her sneakers beside the table and a bag from the candle shop which made curiosity appear in Clarke’s mind once more.

“Another Candle?”

“It’s for Raven. Lavender is supposed to help people relax and de-stress. I thought it might help. Is it too much?”

Clarke smiled and shook her head. “She’ll love it. The fact she gets to light it on fire will only add to her enjoyment of it.”

Lexa nodded and smiled. “I hope so. Octavia says you’ve been painting for a long time?”

“All my life if you include me dipping my hands in paint as a baby and slapping at paper. If you ask my parents, I got more paint on myself than the paper.” Clarke grinned.  
“Is that what you would like to do? Go to college and study art?”

“I wish. Right now my focus is med school.”

“Like your mom and dad?”

“No. They are specialists which means they have to fly all over going to seminars and performing surgeries all over the world. They are a lot like Raven’s parents, always out of town and when they are home they are somewhere else. My dad tries, but he’s got a lot of responsibility. They both do so I get it. They save lives.”

Lexa tilted her head to the side slightly and smiled softly. “Being a doctor is a really important job. I’m sure you’ll be a good one when you get there.”

“I’ll probably be a burnt our wreck and everyone will ask me why I’m not following in my parents footsteps of being one of the top in whatever field I end up in, but that is fine by me. How about you?”

“I want to play soccer professionally. It’s not easy and there are so many talented girls, I have a lot of work ahead of me.”

“Well, you put in the work. Morning runs, practices and games? I thought Raven was good, but that hate trick you scored in the last game was impressive.”

“I missed a couple of good opportunities so I just have to keep working at it. Are you going to be at the game Wednesday?”

“We all will be. Are you kidding? You guys have turned around Polis soccer. Nobody expected the team to do so good this year. That first team was out of gas before the first half and you guys crushed them.”

Lexa couldn’t help but shiver hearing her mother’s voice yelling out to “keep running”. She wasn’t wrong that having good cardio would give them an advantage against other teams. It covered for a lot of sloppy mistakes they made but even those were disappearing thanks to not becoming exahausted so quickly.

They finished their meals, throwing their garbage in the trash and agreed they should head home but not before Clarke told her that hr smoothie was quite possibly the most unappealing she’d ever had and that the only place grass should be is on the ground or in a cow’s stomach. That didn’t stop Lexa from explaining the health benefits of having such a smoothie which then forced Clarke to roll her eyes and state that a smoothie should taste good first then be healthy second.

“I’ll get you to like them one day.” Lexa promised.

“Yeah, and that’ll be the day.”

Thankfully there was a lull in the rain and the trip back to Lexa’s place was much more pleasant. The radio was on low and neither said anything, just letting the day wind down at it’s own pace. After they pulled up to Lexa’s house, they said their goodbyes and Clarke told Lexa she was glad they got to spend the afternoon together. It was nice to just be able to chat without everyone there and Lexa quickly agreed promising that they would do it again.

It wasn’t long before Clarke was driving down the road to her house which left Lexa standing outside and staring over toward Raven’s front door. She ran up to her own door and threw the bags inside, telling Indra she would be back in a little while and that she had to go next door for a second.

Lexa crossed the grass between their houses and could see there were no lights on in Raven’s place leaving Lexa to wonder if anyone was home. She decided to take the chance and rang the bell, biting her lip while rocking back and forth on her feet and waiting until the door opened in front of her to reveal Anya was standing there.

“Hey Anya, is Rae busy?”

Anya glanced over her shoulder and after a second, turned back to Lexa with a apologetic look on her face. “She’s not feeling very well right now. It’s not really a good time.”

“I got her this.” Lexa thrust her hand with the bag in it forward to Anya. “We missed her at the mall today so can you make sure she gets this?”

“I will.” Anya said, peeking into the bag and seeing the candle. “She will love this. Thank you, Lexa.”

“Can you tell her I’ll be running as we always do and I hope she will feel better soon. If she needs a break, she should take it.”

“Of course. She’s already talked about not wanting to miss any runs with you. I’ll make sure she gets this.”

“Is she ok?”

“She just has a lot going on right now. She’ll tell you when she can but I should get back to her. Thanks for stopping by Lexa. She’ll love the candle. It means a lot.”

“Alright. You take care too, Anya. If you need anything, let me know.”

Anya smiled softly and nodded her head. “You’ll be the first I call. Thank you.”

Lexa returned to her house after talking to Anya and although she wished to talk to Raven, she knew it wasn’t her place to pry. Raven was a really great friend and a big reason things were so great for her and Lincoln in Polis so if and when Raven wanted to talk about whatever was troubling her, she would wait as long as it took.

She took her clothes up to her bedroom after showing Indra the things she’d bought and fell back into her bed, reaching for the sunglasses that rested there. She pulled them off and examined them and smiled at how silly they looked.

After a moment she rolled up off her bed and placed them on a prominent spot on top of her dresser, nodding at it’s central placement. What she didn’t tell Clarke is that nobody outside of Indra, Gustus or Kate had every bought her anything on a whim and knowing Clarke thought so much of her to buy her something had her smiling from ear to ear.

Her smile turned into a grin when she thought back to when she dropped a small bag with a or her own candle in Clarke’s bag. She didn’t know what scents Clarke preferred aside from citrus because that seemed to be the kind of shampoo she preferred. She decided to take a chance and picked out her personal favourite; citrus and sandalwood because it was her favourite with the hope Clarke would enjoy it as much as she did.

Even though she teased Lexa in the shop, little did Clarke know the majority of time she spent in the store involved her trying to figure out what kind of candle Clarke would like most.

Lexa went about her nightly routine and after her facetime chat with Kate, she her cellphone to charge next to her bed and a text notification popped up so she swiped, assuming it was Kate saying goodnight again, making her smile. To her surprise, Raven had messaged her.

 **Raven** : _The candle is incredible, thank you so much!_

 **Raven** : _Also, we are running tomorrow morning. You aren’t getting a day off on my watch so get to sleep!_

Lexa smiled and put her cell back down and settled in for the night. She briefly wondered if Clarke would text her but with her eyes getting heavy, she fell asleep with that as her last thought of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raven't situation will be discussed in upcoming chapters. Not immediately, but it will be addressed.


	22. The First Half

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, The Polis panthers find themselves midway through their season and undefeated. The competition is only going to get harder for them and their next opponent is one Lexa would prefer to avoid due to her history with some of the players on the team and particularly it's captain. Can Lexa lead her team to victory or will the Arkadia find a way to get an edge over their rivals?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Over a month! 
> 
> I'm really sorry for the delay and I just want to let everyone who has been waiting that I'm not bailing on this story. Life + new job = chaos! Thankfully, I have something to post tonight, and I'll have another to post tomorrow(this is a two-part chapter). 
> 
> I want to get the second half right and I would like to stew on it a little more.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy "The First Half" and I'll see you tomorrow when I post "The Second Half".

“So this was the team Lexa would have played for if she didn’t move to Polis?”

“That’s what she said on Thursday. She wouldn’t say anything else about it and then she gave Raven and I that look her mom gives them at practice when she wants everyone to shut up.” Anya explained to Clarke who was wearing the same tribal face paint as everyone else in the visitors section of Arkadia’s stadium.

“Did you guys see them all coming off the bus? They looked like they were getting ready to go to war with how serious they looked.”

“Indra told them all at the end of practice Wednesday that this game will be a test of how far they’ve come. I guess their first half of the season was the easier part of their schedule and now they will have more road games than home games up until the playoffs.”

“Well, I for one think our girls will come out on top. Raven and Lexa have been on fire lately.”

Anya couldn’t help but grin at Clarke’s enthusiasm.

“What?”

“I’ve never seen you being such a fan of sports. I can’t even get you out to one of my free classes.”

“I enjoy watching, not playing. There’s a big difference between the two. This requires much less coordination and I don’t get sweaty.”

~*~*~

“Lexa?”

“Hmm?” Lexa asked, opening her eyes and glancing around to find the source of her name being called while pulling off her headphones. To her right, Kate was in her usual spot right next to her and was smiling which led to Lexa offering her one of her own. “Hey. What’s up?”

“You were pretty quiet on the bus ride over here and when we got in the locker room, you went straight into your fortress of solitude mode. Everything alright?”

“Yeah. Everything is fine.”

“Uh-huh. Sure it is. Usually you are all cocky and confident, trying to rile everyone up.”

“I still am! I just… need to focus.”

“I’ve only ever seen you this nervous once. Why didn’t you tell me that you were worried about playing Arkadia?”

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just some nerves. I’ll get over them when we’re on the field.”

“Hey. Forget about them. You are on a great team with some really awesome friends and we’re all friends. Even Ava, who you beat out for your position and initially hated your guts. And you’ve got me.”

“I know and I am the luckiest person in this room but As far as Ava goes? She still hates me.” Lexa let out a small chuckle.

“Maybe, but at least she hides it now.” Kate grinned and bumped Lexa with her shoulder and stealing a kiss of her own.

“Alright everyone. Listen up.”

The attention from all the girls who were in various stages of getting became solely focused on their coach and her assistants as they walked in the room.

“This is the mid-way point of our year and to the three coaches standing in front of you, the real season begins today. The team we are playing is tied with us in the standings and if we want to win, we are going to have to play the game we all know we are all capable of playing today. You all just need to believe in each other, keep your feet moving and stay focused. We’ve told you all this every practice and every game up to now, that if you do those three things, there isn’t a team in this league that can defeat you. Now lets go out there and have a great first half!”

The girls spirits were buoyed by Indra’s words and life filled the room once her words came to their conclusion. They’d all been feeding off the nervous energy that this game had created in them and it had them all second guessing their chances in this, their first real test. Everyone was smiling and the mood in the room was elevated to what it usually was before their games. Even Lexa appeared lighter than she had moments before her mother had spoken. 

“Lexa.” Called Indra, before she left the room to join the girls on their way to the field with the assistant coaches.

“Yeah?” Lexa looked up at her mom without her usual confident smile.

“I know you are going to be playing against some of your old friends and some who weren’t. I want you to remember that you are in control of how you do out there. Not me, not them, not your teammates. You.” Her voice had lost it’s edge and she wasn’t talking to her coach at this moment in time.

“I know, mom.” Lexa let herself half-smile and Indra reached out to tussle her hair, only to be deftly dodged by her daughter who went sprinting down the hall to rejoin her team who were all standing at the field entrance and awaiting the announcement over the loudspeakers that they were taking the field.

“So?”

“So, what?” Lexa asked innocently as she stared forward, past her teammates to the blue sky and the green grass of the field in front of them. She reached over and took Kate’s hand and gave it a squeeze after her fingers weaved themselves around hers.

“Everything is good?”

“Perfect. Now let’s go kick Arkadia’s ass.” She responded with her cocky grin on full display.

~

Clarke, Anya, Monty and Bellamy were all snugly sitting in the bleachers and in one movement, they all shot to their feet, clapping and whistling their support for their Polis Panthers who were now taking the field. They ran straight across to their bench and waved to their friends and family who came along to support them. Many freshly painted posters covered with words of support were taped to the railing above and behind the girls who all pretended like they were about to go to war as each of them had the look of seriousness about them. 

Lexa called her teammates into a huddle and they took the opportunity to give each other words of support for the game to come and to go over the game plan against the Arkers. On three, they shouted “Panthers” and the stands behind them erupted once more with shouts as the starting players jogged out to their positions where the awaiting Arkadia players stood in their expected defensive formation.

“I was wondering if you’d finally show up, Lexa.” Said the slightly taller and larger framed blonde who stood opposite Lexa’s position.

“And miss the chance to give your team their first loss of the year? I wouldn’t miss it for the world Tessa.” 

Tessa smirked as she watched Lexa place the ball on the turf. “I’m glad you found a team you could start on, even if it was in another city. You’ll have to tell me after the game if the rumors are true.”

Lexa looked at the girl with a curious look, but the questioning look vanished when the referee blew his whistle to start the match. Lexa tapped the ball over to Raven and in a mad dash, darted toward the opposing goal to start the game.

This match was unlike all he other games they’d played to this point. It was a rough one and the girls on the Arkadia side were playing borderline criminal with their physicality. There were numerous tackles that were too close to call but what was starting to get under the skin Polis team and it’s coaches were the elbows and punches that seemed to go completely unnoticed by the referees.

Lexa understood her teammates frustration and was often reminding everyone to keep their heads in the game and that advice led to an advantage when the over-aggressiveness of the Arkers led to a scoring opportunity for Polis. At the twenty-one minute mark, a defender missed a tackle thanks to Raven’s fantastic footwork and noticed Lexa was jostling for position with a defender in front of the box.

With a grunt, Raven put everything she had into a low pass that streaked toward her teammate. Lexa had to dig deep and maneuver her leg forward all the while being shoved by her defender in order to get a piece of the ball. It was more of a deflection but it went off the top of Lexa’s foot and with the ‘woosh’ sound of the ball as it made contact with the top of the net, through the opposing keeper’s hands to give Polis the first goal of the game.

The stands on the visitor side of the field erupted in celebration and high fives were exchanged among the numerous supporters but it was cut short with what they saw happen at the conclusion of the play. Nobody was too clear on exactly what happened but Lexa found herself staring upward into the blue sky above and she could feel a constricting grip in her chest as her lungs struggled for air. The only thing she could register was a burning in her lungs and that whistles were being blown frantically.

In extending herself for the deflection, the girl she’d spoken to at the start of the match had buried her shoulder in her chest and after the contact, Lexa was knocked clean off her feet, spinning in the air and slamming into the grass.

Raven and Octavia had run up and moved to help Lexa up off the grass and as they did, Lexa had to fight to keep her legs under her for a moment. The referee approached and gave the offending girl a yellow card which was met by protests from both teams. The Arkadia players for the girl getting a card for playing “solid defence” and from the Polis players for not getting a red and being removed from the match.

“Thanks, guys. That was a great pass Rae. They were playing really tight.”

“I’m sorry I put you in that position. I should have been more careful.”

“They are playing dirty but we’re up one to nothing. Let’s keep the pressure on them.”

“You want Indra to give you a rest? She looks like she wants to take you out of the game.” Raven was watching Lexa walk off the contact as they both walked back to center field.

Lexa didn’t want to the sidelines, but when she did she saw a look of concern on her mother’s face. When Indra signaled her option to come to the side lines and rest, Lexa waved her off and shook her head. “I’m good. We’re good.”

~

“What the hell was that?” Anya shouted from where she stood. The play wasn’t easily tracked because of all the bodies milling around and arms pushing and shoving each other but the only clear thing everyone saw was the ball going in the net, Lexa on the ground, then the maelstrom of players afterward who were shouting at each other.

“That one was talking with Lexa at the start of the match. She knocked her over after she scored the goal?” Clarke asked.

“She did. They’ve been at each others throat all half and the refs are just ignoring it. I thought these people were supposed to be her old friends.”

Clarke squinted and could see a slight limp in Lexa’s walk as she returned to midfield, causing her blood to boil with the understanding that the referees are allowing the Arkadia girl to remain in the game. “We can ask Lexa after the game. There’s still seventeen minutes left in the half they have to get through. Hopefully Indra will do something about the refs. This is a joke.”

“C’mon Panthers! Give’em hell!” Anya yelled, pumping her fist in the air. A gesture Raven heard and looked directly at her girlfriend after hearing.

“Head in the game, Reyes.” Lexa ordered the brunette who received nodded her understanding.

“Never left it. Want to get another one?”

“Sounds good to me.” Lexa grinned, waiting for the Arker’s to start their possession.

~

The remainder of the half was a script that nobody wanted to witness on the Polis sideline or in the bleachers. After taking the lead it appeared the Arkadia squad found another level to their aggressiveness and it continued to become a significant handicap on the Panthers. The referees had put away their whistles and unless it was a Panther player in violation, no whistles were forthcoming. 

In the 39th minute, Kate had been knocked to the turf with a blatantly illegal tackle that caught her directly on the ankle and sent her to the ground. Once again, the referees missed the obvious and that left Tessa undefended and alone with the ball and fifteen feet between her and the goal. A swing of her leg and the ball came off like a bullet and found the back of the net, resulting in cheers from the home side and the Arkadia girls doing their best to rub it in the faces of their opponents.

Lexa had other concerns than the score being tied up 1 - 1 or the taunts that were thrown her way because Kate was lying on the ground holding her ankle. Lexa ran right by the Arkadia players celebrating and kneeled next to Kate with concern in her eyes.

“Kate! Are you alright?”

“Lexa, help me up.” 

“You should wait for the trainer. She’s on her way…” 

“I’m not leaving the game.” Kate declared as she tried to get up on her own.

“Take the rest of the half. They won’t score on us in that time and the trainer will get a good look at you in the locker room.” Lexa argued but it was no use. She grabbed a hold of Kate to help steady her and once Kate stood upright, she tested her ankle. A result that caused her to wince and almost fall over.

“She can’t keep playing. Put someone on for her.” ordered the referee to the trainer who just arrived on the scene.

“She would still be playing if you would get control of the game.” Lexa turned aggressively at the referee in question and spat fire at him. “If you’d use your goddamn whistle to stop them from purposefully throwing illegal tackles, maybe she wouldn’t have to be taken off the field.” 

When Lexa finished her her accusation, she wished she could take it all back. Reaching into his shirt pocket, he extracted the small yellow card and held it up in the air and pointed at Lexa who was now fighting every instinct to lose her temper at one of the three officials who seemed to have a personal vendetta against her team.

“Lex. I’ll be back. Don’t get yourself taken out of the game because of them.” Kate asked as Raven and Octavia pulled Lexa away from the official before she crossed that line.

Lexa was watching Kate being helped off the field and led toward the locker room by one of the assistant coaches and the team trainer. It was only as Raven grabbed Lexa by her shoulders and gave her a shake that she realized what was happening.

“Lexa. We have a minute and you can find out how she is doing. Let’s just close out the half and then we’ll figure out the second half.”

“Yeah. Alright.”

Lexa surveyed the field in front of her and Arkadia had dropped their players back in order to prevent the possibility of Polis having a run at their goal without paying a price. After a low growl, Lexa gave a signal by throwing up her arm, pointing both her pinky and ring-finger upward. She passed the ball over to Octavia and both she and Raven began to spring down the field, pulling defenders back into their half.

Before they knew it, the referee blew his whistle and put the first half to rest. Lexa gave the ball a swift kick as she walked in the direction of their locker room, sending it across the field toward the side line. She was angry about a number of things, but currently her frustration was focused on how Kate needed help off the field.

“What did you expect? You were never cut out to be on a winning team.” Lexa frowned when she heard the familiar voice from behind, along with the chorus of laughter from a few of the Arkadia players.

“We’ll get you in the second half.” Lexa declared. “You can’t get away with playing that way the whole game.”

By this point, Lexa had stopped walking and turned to face Tessa who just brushed past her on the way to her own locker room. 

“Give Kate my regards. It was a shame what happened to her but unless she actually learns how to play her position, she’s going to give up a lot more easy goals like that.”

“You fuc…”

“Oh no!” Raven said, sprinting up to Lexa and stepping between her and Tessa before she could do something she’d regret, as well as covering her mouth with her hand. “Easy there, tiger. Lets go cool down.”

Lexa took a couple deep breaths once Raven removed her hand and slung her arm over Raven’s shoulder so they could walk back to the locker room together. It still took considerable effort to ignore the taunts coming from the Rush players but she managed to. Just barely. “Thanks Rae.”

“I did it for all of us. Remember those sprints your mom made us run the last time you hit someone? No thank you!”

Lexa grinned through the pain in her body from the numerous elbows and cleated-stomps from their opponents. She didn’t have it any worse than her teammates, except for the post-goal collision and she was determined not to wear it as an excuse.

“Second half. We’ll get them in the second half.” Raven reassured her.

“Second half.” Lexa agreed.


	23. The Second Half

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second half of a very difficult match between Polis and Arkadia reaches it's peak when Lexa and Tessa become too competitive and a line is crossed which results in an altercation between the two.
> 
> *Trigger warning* 
> 
> There will be a couple comments which target Kate and Lexa's relationship and a slur is used. This type of thing won't be a common occurrence in this story and upcoming chapters will be addressing it's impact on the characters involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part two of the match!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who is enjoying the story! I don't know if I say it enough but thank you for taking the time and enjoying the story. Life is the most valuable currency we have and all of you are kind enough to share yours with me and this story of mine.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter and although it is a tough one for the characters in the story, I plan on making the next couple chapter MUCH lighter.
> 
> See you all again soon for the next update!

“What did we just watch?” Monty asked, a frustrated look on his face along with all the rest of the supporters around him. “That didn’t look like a soccer match.”

“I think the legal term is assault.” Clarke suggested. “On the bright side, we are tied one-one.”

“Look, Indra is talking to the refs. She seems really pissed off.” Anya pointed to the door next to the locker rooms. Everyone could see the animated hands that were throwing what appeared to be several pointed fingers at the trio. “She’s really laying into them.”

“About time. They are letting Arkadia get away with everything.” Murphy added. “They are reffing like there are two different sets of rules.”

The group continued to commiserate about the quality of officiating as well as the excellent goal scored by Lexa to put them up one to nothing. They even grudgingly agreed that Arkadia’s defence was the reason they weren’t up by more. There was a reason they were rumored to have a stifling backfield.

“Is that Lexa’s dad? Mr. Woods! Over here!” Anya shouted over the crowd, waving at the large man as he’d arrived. All the kids slid over and so that he could sit down on the bleachers. “We saved you a seat.”

“Thank you Anya, and hello everyone. What have I missed? The score is one-all but everyone here looks like they are about to explode. Did I miss something?”

“Well Sir…” Clarke sighed and then dove into an animated explanation to fill him in on the events of the first half and the state of officiating up to the end of the half, as well as the incidents involving Lexa and Kate.

“Can you save my seat for me a bit longer? I’ll be right back.” he asked, standing up and locating his wife who had just walked into the locker room.

“We will.” Clarke promised, and hey all slid back over to their original positions.

~

“Coach, can’t you do something about this?”

“Listen up, everyone. We don’t want you to worry about anything but the game you are playing. That goes for each and every one of you. I want all of your heads in the game and focused on doing what you all know you need to do. They want to get into your heads and they are ding everything they can to throw you off.”

“But you saw what they did to Lexa, and to Kate!” Argued a frustrated Octavia who threw her towel at the ground.

“We all did and I promise you all that the matter will not be ignored. We still have a half to play and I want you all to keep your tempers in check. Retaliation calls are more likely than initial contact and that’s what they are expecting us to do now. They know we are frustrated so you all need to keep your anger in check. Play our game and that means always be moving. Don’t let them pull you into playing theirs. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Coach!” The girls all shouted, but the anger was evident in everyone’s reply.

“Now get some Gatorade in you and get prepared for the second half. We all know what kind of a game they are playing and what to expect. These kinds of games are what makes champions and the team in this room has the ability to become the as great a team as I’ve ever coached. Play like you can for the next fourty minutes and you will come out on top.” Indra hesitated for a second as she looked over at Lexa but continued after looking back at the rest of the team. “Olivia, you are in for Kate in the second half.”

“Coach?” Lexa asked with concern apparent on her face. Everyone had the same question reflecting in their eyes as they looked up to Indra from their bench.

Indra could feel the concern in the room without having to look at her players.

“Everyone. Kate has been taken to the local hospital for an x-ray as a precaution and won’t be returning to the game tonight. If you want to send her a text after the game, she’s given us permission to give you her number. I’m sure she would appreciate your support.”

All the girls expressed interest in reaching out to Kate and if there wasn’t a no cellphone rule imposed by the coaching staff, Lexa would have been on hers the moment Indra gave the team the option to reach out. IT was clear to her now why when she walked in the locker room and noticed Kate’s spot on the bench next to hers was devoid of her bag and change of clothes for the ride back to Polis.

“Alright, five minutes and we are back out on the field. Take the time to stretch and . Five minutes.”

~

Indra stepped out from the locker room and brought her hands up to rub her eyes, taking the moment to enjoy a couple deep breaths of the cool air. She may be the coach, but she could see and understood what her team was facing. It wasn’t going to get any easier in the second half if the conversation she’d had earlier with the referees was any indication.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Indra let out her last deep breath in a long sigh and turned to see her husband leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“This game is not going as well as I’d like.” she explained. “We nearly lost Lexa half way through the first and then we lost Kate at the end of the half.”

“I heard. There is a packed visitors section all wondering what they had all just witnessed.”

“If it wasn’t for the sheer amount of determination these girls have, the score would be very different right now.”

“Then you’ve done what you can. The rest is up to them. Not every game is going to be an easy one.”

“I knew this game was going to be a hard one but I didn’t expect anyone to get hurt. I know it can happen, but it’s tough from the sidelines to see it happen and be unable to do anything about it.”

“And how is Lexa? Is she hurt?”

“She’d play with a broken bone if she thought she could get away with it.” Indra chuckled at the thought but she saw Gustus raise an eyebrow in question and shook her head quickly to dispel his concern. “She’s fine. The trainer is having a look at her right now.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Nothing much. I’m sure she will want to visit Kate at the hospital once the game is over. I have to return to Polis with the team after the game, but if you are willing to drive her over after the game I’m sure she would be happy.”

“I’ll be waiting outside the locker room after the game. Until then, I’ll be in the stands with the rest of the concerned parents and friends.”

“They are that concerned?”

“Well, the rundown I got from Clarke and Anya was that it was a one-sided street fight and only Arkadia was allowed to use weapons.”

“They aren’t completely wrong if by weapons the mean elbows and punches. I’m expecting that things will even out in the second. If not, I’ll make sure to pass the game film along to the league.”

Indra glanced down at her watch and then up at the scoreboard on the field. “I have to call the kids out.”

“Then I’ll head back to me seat. Good luck in the second half, Coach.”

Indra flashed him a smile and a nod before opening the door and calling her players back out to the field, all the while hoping the second half would be less eventful than the first.

~

After the players took to the field, the second half started with Arkadia getting possession of the ball and pressing forward and forcing Polis onto their heels. With Kate being removed from the game, they spent their time driving hard on the right side in an attempt to find weakness in the Panthers defence. It only took them eight minutes before they found a way through and kicked a perfect shot over Harper’s hands and into the side of the net.

From there, things got even uglier. If the first half was akin to a mugging, the second half might as well have been death from a thousand cuts.

Numerous yellow cards had been awarded to Polis which resulted in the Panthers having to play carefully and give Arkadia space which gave them more room to operate. That space led to a Arkadia being awarded two penalty kicks, both of which were converted by their opponents which gave them a four to one lead over the visiting team.

“Are you as sick of this as I am?” Octavia asked, standing next to Lexa and Raven at midfield.

“Maybe we should change things up. How’s your foot feeling, superstar?” Raven grinned at Lexa who shook her head.

“They are double teaming me any time I get near the goal. If I do anything, I’m going to get kicked out of the game.”

“Then Rae and I will create some space. Take the ball and we’ll pull them back. That is if you can get past that monster of a girl who has made it her life’s ambition to make you miserable.”

Lexa awaited the ball at midfield and signaled to her team with a gesture their plan of attack on the possession. If they had any chance, they had to respond to Arkadia’s pressure with their own. They had fifteen minutes left and they were down by three. In Lexa’s mind, they still had a chance.

“Ready?” Lexa asked.

“You know it. Let’s get that one back.”

“Hell yeah.”

After starting their attack by kicking the ball over to Raven, she dropped back and received a return pass in order to give Raven and Octavia the chance to sprint toward the Arkadia goal. This left Lexa in a one-on-one with Tessa who smirked and slowly backpedaled to keep Lexa in front of her but not fast enough to stop Lexa from getting closer.

“This is your plan?” the girl taunted Lexa. “One on one?”

“My plan right now is to pull our team within two.”

“You think you are good enough to get by me? Think again. You weren’t good enough before and you aren’t good enough now.”

Tessa jumped forward in an attempt to swipe the ball from Lexa while she responds to her taunt but Lexa had her own plan. She was far too agile for the bigger girl and Lexa spun herself around, sweeping the ball up to shield it with her body as she turned. Before Tessa could recover, Lexa was sprinting forward, kicking the ball a couple feet in front her and speeding toward the goal.

Raven and Octavia were busy trying to get themselves free from the Arkadia defenders who were either grabbing their jerseys to keep them from getting free or outright holding them from getting open. As long as they continued, Lexa had a clear shot at the goal and as soon as she got close enough, she slowed herself on order to get better aim on her kick.

The ball rolled ahead a bit and Octavia’s defender saw an opportunity to try to clear the ball, lunging to get in the way with the hold of blocking it our of bounds. Lexa made contact with the ball and instead of the ball heading toward the net, it bounced over to Octavia who had a clear shot to the goal, skillfully putting her laces to leather and pulled the panthers within two.

A second after the pass made it through, the defender that charged Lexa slid low and wound up trying to tackle Lexa in a similar fashion as was done to Kate in the first half but Lexa was prepared. She jumped in an effort to avoid significant contact which resulted in her flipping over and crashing into the ground.

“Sorry. I was going for the ball.” the girl tried to explain as she stood up but the grin on her face explained otherwise.

Lexa shook her head and ignored her and instead ran over to Octavia and Raven who were celebrating the goal with their other teammates.

“Just two more of those and and we’ve got it tied.” Lexa high-fived Octavia, then got pulled into a hug from her teammates who complimented her on her pass.

“You got lucky, Woods.” Tessa grunted, the scowl on her face as she accepted the ball from the referee after they’d all arrived onside. She set the sphere on the ground and looked across to Lexa who stood ten yards away. “One goal isn’t going to get it done.”

“We’ve got two. They skip teaching you how to add in Arkadia or are you just so slow that everything gets by you?”

Lexa saw the anger on the girls face and when she started the match and the ball was kicked back into their end to start their progress into the Polis zone. As she backpedaled to keep up with Tessa, she was surprised to see the girl lower her shoulder and ran directly through her. Lexa was sent to the turf and as a result, her head bounced off the ground causing her to remain down for a moment due to the contact.

The sidelines and the stands erupted at the sight of the blatant foul on Lexa but once again, there was no foul on the Arkadia team. With Lexa down on the turf, Arkadia took advantage and pushed the ball toward Polis’ goal. Tessa had managed to find herself open and after a series of well-timed passes had another clear shot at goal.

This time, Harper moved with purpose, lunging with everything she had to the far side of the goal with the hope of getting a piece of the ball that was curling into the net. Instead of the ball finding the back of the net, she felt contact in the palm of her hand and it went sailing up and just over the top bar and out of play which led to everyone rushing to help her up and thanking her for making such a difficult save.

“Thanks, Harp.” Lexa said, last to arrive due to having to recover from her collision just a moment ago.

“I’m not going to let her get her hat trick on me, Lex. Not after what she just did.”

The upcoming corner kick meant that both Polis and Arkadia players would be in close quarters and by now every one of the Polis players were expecting elbows and punches. Lexa was reminding them all to follow Indra’s advice at halftime and although they all wanted to retaliate, they fought the urge and concentrated on the game.

That was until the kick occurred. When Lexa jumped up to head the ball away from the goal, she felt someone's foot sweep out her legs as she was still in the air resulting in her turning sideways. Lexa once again met the turf, only this time she landed on her arm at an awkward angle which resulted in her letting out a shout due to the pain that shot through the limb.  Rather than hear an officials whistle, she heard Tessa’s mocking voice suggesting that she stay down like her “dyke girlfriend”.

Arm pain or not, Lexa shelved the hurt and pushed herself up off the turf and on to her feet. She was in Tessa’s face in seconds. “Say that again. I dare you. I fucking dare you!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault your kind go down and stay down so easily.” Tessa mocked, laughing with some of her teammates and shoving Lexa back.

With the commotion getting out of control in front of the Polis goal and the game spiraling steadily out of control, the referees ran over and tried to prevent it from getting any worse. When they arrived, they could see Lexa standing over the girl she’d just punched in the face and her node was covered in red. The same red that covered Lexa’s closed fist.

“You, Polis player number eight. You’re done.” the head referee shouted, pulling his red card from his pocket and throwing his arm in the air. “Get off my field.” Lexa’s eyes opened wide in surprise that she was the one getting kicked off the field.

At this point, the assistant coaches had run on the field to try to get their players to calm down as the pushing and shoving was escalating between everyone on the field.

“You are kicking me out? Did you hear what she said?”

“I don’t care what she said. You are done.” The referee declared, directing the two Polis coaches to get her off the field or they would call the game as it was.

“But she said…”

“Lexa,” Indra interrupted. Lexa looked up at Indra and instead of seeing anger directed at her in her eyes, Indra was glaring directly at the referee that seemed to have no intention of kicking Tessa from the game. When it was clear there was no further penalties upcoming, she turned to look at Lexa and Lexa could see the anger was gone from her eyes. “We’ll discuss this later. You need to get off the field.” Indra said, signaling one of the assistant coaches to take Lexa from the field.

“But mom…”

“Lexa, we’ll talk about this later. How is your arm?”

“It hurts.”

“Go and get changed. Your father will take you to see Kate and you will be able to get your arm looked at.”

“Let us all know how Kate is doing when you see her, ok?” Raven added to Indra's order. 

Lexa nodded, holding her sore arm at the elbow. There was a cut that was causing blood to drip down her arm to her fingertips thanks to how she landed on the turf.”This is such bullshit.” She mumbled, turning and headed toward the locker room as the referees continued to try to get control of the girls who were still yelling and shoving each other.

“Polis, get your team under control.” The referee commanded Indra, who was exercising a significant mount of control over the urge to throw a punch of her own.

“Panthers, to the sideline. Now!” she yelled loudly, heeding the official’s order and cutting over the noise of the girls. It was a tone they’d never heard from Indra so they responded by immediately ignoring the Arkadia players and jogging straight over to their sideline. A sideline that Gustus was was now standing on and waiting for Indra to return to.

“Everyone grab a drink.” Indra told her players who quickly grabbed the sports bottles and began draining them of their contents. As they occupied themselves with their task, Indra walked over to her husband and growled with displeasure. “She has to go for an x-ray.”

“I’ll take Lexa to the hospital. What happened out there?”

“What happened is going to become a situation for the league to deal with. I’m not sure what was said but I will find that out after the match.”

“It must have been significant for Lexa to throw a punch. She wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, she did and now we have to figure what comes next. She hurt her arm and it has a cut but I don’t know how bad it is. She’s getting changed and then she’ll come out so you can take her in.”

“Alright. I’ll let you know how Kate is as well as soon as I know.”

Indra gave him a nod as thanks and turned back to the team who were all watching her with nervous expressions on their faces.

“I’m not going to discuss what just happened right now. All I want from each and every one of you is to go and finish the game. I don’t want to see any more altercations either instigated by our side or their side.”

“But coach, if you heard what they’d said…” Harper tried to explain but the look Indra gave her silenced any further conversation about the subject.

“That is a matter for myself and the league to deal with. You job is to go out there and finish the game. Go play the last twelve minutes and when the game is over, I want you to walk directly to the locker room.”

“Yes, coach!” They all shouted before running back out on the field to play out the clock. Both sides exchanged a few scoring chances, but the mood was somber with both Lexa having been kicked out of the game and Tessa being told to stay on the bench after the Arkadia team retook the field after the conflict.

The game finished 4 to 2 for Arkadia but not a single girl on the Polis side was concerned about anything other than how their teammates were. Raven and Octavia were the first two out of the locker room and Anya stepped forward and pulled Raven into her arms.

“I’m glad you didn’t end up hurt.” she whispered into Raven’s ear which caused Ravens breath to hitch and when they pulled apart Raven offered her a smile. “You too O. We were all concerned about you guys.”

“That game was ridiculous. They should get suspended for what happened.” Octavia exclaimed.

“Any word on Lexa and Kate?” Raven asked.

“I text them both but they said they are still waiting to get their x-rays. They will let us know when they do. Are we heading over there now?”

“Indra says we all have to go back by bus unless our guardian is here to drive us. Something about insurance.” Raven explained.

“Where is Clarke?” Octavia wondered aloud, looking around for the familiar blonde haired girl. “She drove here, didn’t she?”

“Clarke is already on her way over to the hospital so I imagine we’ll hear from her before too long. She said she’ll open a group chat when she gets there and update everyone.”

“Are you coming back to Polis?” Raven asked as she reached out and took Anya’s hand.

“Of course.” she smiled. “I will follow behind the bus so I’ll be at the school as you pull in. Then we can head to your place or mine. Unless you would rather get something to eat first?”

Seeing Anya and Raven get lost in their conversation, Octavia decided to call it a night. “See you later Anya. Sorry we couldn’t get the win for everyone tonight.”

“I don’t think that was our team’s fault, O. Have a good night!” Anya suggested, waving at Octavia who was joining the stream of girls heading for the bus, each other them down from what they’d just been a part of witnessing.

“I better go too. Can I think about dinner on the bus? Raven leaned in and gave Anya a quick kiss.

“Of course you can! Go join the girls and I’ll see you soon, hun”

“See you soon, hun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to give everyone an update on the next chapter. 
> 
> I plan on having the chapter updated this weekend and I'm sorry it has been such a long wait! Both stories will be receiving updates! My plan is for Saturday(MST) and as early as possible in the day.


	24. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a fight at the soccer game between Polis and Arkadia, Lexa and Kate meet at the hospital so their injuries can be taken care of. Unfortunately, there is some bad news for one of the Polis Panthers players.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know! Forever AND a day!
> 
> I want to blame life but in truth, I've been on holiday/hiatus the last few weeks because I have been incredibly burnt out. It happens every once in a while and I needed the recharge. I planned on taking another couple weeks but I don't want to leave the stories too long!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who is patiently waiting for these updates and I'll see you all soon!

Clarke pressed the small button that dispensed her a ticket so she could park in the Arkadia General Hospital parking lot and once the arm raised to give her access, she sped her red hatchback to the nearest spot she could find and hastily made her way to the emergency waiting room. It was taking forever for the automatic door open and Clarke let out a frustrated huff, shoving the door to speed it up and getting a glare from the security guard sitting at his desk just inside the entrance.

Her blue eyes scanned the room and immediately landed on Lexa who was sitting beside her father, her arm in a sling and a worried look on her face that gave Clarke an uneasy feeling. Lexa’s mood seemed to lift when she looked up and saw Clarke hustling forward.

“Lexa! Is everything ok?”

Lexa stood up and Clarke wrapped her arms around her, mindful of the splint on Lexa’s arm and to not squeeze the girl too tight. Lexa leaned forward into the hug wrapping the arm not in a sling around Clarke. Clarke released the hug and urged Lexa to sit back down while surveying her arm with concern.

“My arm is fine. They gave me a few stitches to close the cut. The sling is to make sure I don’t bend the elbow and pull them all out.”

“So no breaks?”

“Nope.” Lexa lifted her arm in the sling as evidence. 

“That’s a relief.” Clarke let out a sigh but reached out and began to inspect Lexa’s arm. “How is Kate?”

“She is still in with the doctor. She went in for an x-ray before I got here and still hasn’t come out. How did the game go after I left?”

“It turned into a regular match. That girl you got into it with was kicked out of the game and from what I hear she’s going to be in a lot of trouble. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time left for you guys to catch up and they won.”

Lexa frowned at the news that they’d lost. “The next time we face them, it’ll be in the playoffs. We’ll be ready for them. That is, if they even let me keep playing.”

“About that. Some of the girls think that you and the other girl might be suspen…”

“Let’s leave that to another day, ok girls?” Gustus interrupted, drawing the attention from both Lexa and Clarke. “Indra will be taking the incident up with the league and until we hear from them, everything will continue as it has been.”

“Ok, dad.”

“Alright, Mr. Woods.”

Clarke and Lexa relived the event and as much excitement as Clarke talked about how she took down the bigger girl, Lexa couldn’t reciprocate. She knew what she did was wrong and had a conversation about it with Gustus on the way to the hospital. He didn’t condone her actions, but he didn’t tell her she was wrong. She’d stood up for herself and her girlfriend when it seemed like nobody around them was willing to, including the officials.

“Lexa!”

The memory of that conversation with her father was interrupted by Kate calling her name while a purple-clothed porter wheeled her via wheelchair toward the group that was waiting for her. Lexa’s eyes scanned Kate’s foot and was glad to see she wasn’t in a fiberglass cast, but an air cast which usually meant a less severe injury. Lexa smiled and leaned in to kiss her girlfriend.

“Kate! Is everything ok?”

“I’m alright, Lex.” Kate smiled halfheartedly. “It’s just a sprain. What happened to your arm?”

“I got tackled by Tessa and had a disagreement with the ground.”

“She got you too?” Kate eyes took on a layer of curiosity.

“Yeah, then Lexa punched her in the mouth!” Clarke laughed, throwing a right-hook at an imaginary adversary. 

“You hit her? Why did you hit her?” Kate asked, a bit surprised Lexa lost her cool because she was usually level-headed when they played.

“She might have said some things about you and me. I’d rather not repeat it here.” Lexa felt her chest beginning to tighten in anger and she became acutely aware of the throbbing pain in her elbow.

“Hey. It’s over now. Forget what she said.” Kate said as she reached forward and took hold of Lexa’s hand that had balled into a fist. She smiled when her girlfriends breathing began to even out. “The game is over and we won’t see her again. Not until playoffs, anyway.”

Lexa watched the grin form on Kate’s face and couldn’t help but form a small one of her own.

“So what do I tell the team?” Clarke asked, after giving the pair a short moment alone and waving her cellphone to indicate she was going to let everyone know how things were going. “Raven won’t stop harassing me and I promised I’d find out and let everyone know. Unless you want to jump in the chat and tell everyone?”

Kate pulled her cellphone from her shorts pocket and frowned when she tried to power it on and nothing happened. It was low after she called her mother and informed her that she was being taken to have her ankle examined. After a heated argument about whether or not she should make the two hour drive from Tondc to Arkadia, Kate’s coach promised to make sure she brought her back to Tondc and keep her informed on what was happening.

“My mom already talked to Coach.” Kate indicated with a tilt of her head over to Coach Peters who had walked over to have a conversation with Gustus who was on his own cellphone. “I’m still going to come with the team to games and be there for practices.”

“How long until you can play?” Lexa asked.

“Two weeks in the splint, another two of light activity. If my doctor says I can play again, I’ll be back in a month. Maybe sooner if things go really well. ”

“I’ll tell everyone in the chat.” Clarke stated, then as her phone blew up with messages from her teammates, she handed the phone to Kate so she could see the messages of support which was enough to brighten her mood beyond having seen Lexa when she came into the waiting room. 

“Well, if you can’t play, then you don’t have to worry about falling behind on your studying for midterms.” Lexa suggested, hoping to show her girlfriend a silver lining in the grey clouds that had formed in her mind. Kate just shook her head and laughed.

“Sometimes you are such a nerd.” Kate smiled at Lexa and shook her head while holding up her backpack. “Can you hold this for me?”

“Of course.” Lexa threw it over her shoulder and watched Kate hop up out of the chair. Moments later, one of the medical staff ran over with a pair of aluminum crutches and after a quick adjustment, handed them to Kate who tested them by moving around as best she could after having them sized appropriately.

“A natural.” Gustus said, smiling at Kate as he approached with Coach Peters who said her goodbyes and told Kate she wanted to speak to her Monday at school before she turned and left the hospital. . “Now, how about we get you home so you both can get some rest.”

“I’m not going home with Coach Peters?” Kate looked at Lexa and Gustus curiously.

“I spoke to your mother and we decided it might be best for you to stay at our home tonight and I will drive you home tomorrow morning.”

“She said it was alright?”

Gustus nodded and took on a look of absolute seriousness. “She did but there are conditions that both Indra and I expect you to comply with and they are non-negotiable.”

“Conditions?” Kate didn’t really know Lexa’s father and for those who didn’t know him, he could be quite an imposing man. She glanced between Lexa and her father a couple times unsure what to say as nervousness began to take hold.

“Dad… c’mon!” Lexa groaned.

“The condition is that you have to eat a family breakfast with us in the morning.”

Kate’s eyes widened and she let out a laugh that filled the ER which caused Lexa to nearly melt where she stood. Clarke smiled herself as she lifted her cell to take a picture of the scene in front of her. She sent it to the group chat which caused her phone to erupt with messages once more. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Gustus relaxed his posture and pointed to the exit. “What do you say we get out of here and get back so I can barbecue us some dinner. Clarke, I expect you there as well unless your parents are expecting you home.”

“I’ve gotta get home. My mom managed to get an evening off and the only way I could come to the game tonight is if I made sure I was home right after.” Clarke explained as they made their way through the exit and toward their cars.

“Alright, but you do know you are missing out on the best barbecue of your life.”

“Dad, just because you are barbecuing doesn’t mean it’s always the dinner of a lifetime.” Lexa rolled her eyes at her father’s claim.

“Daughter, you wound me.” Gustus lifted his hand to his chest and gave his daughter a pained look which drew a laugh from the other two girls present.

“Can we go now?” Lexa groaned, feeling her cheeks redden as she gave Kate a quick look of embarrassment.

“I guess we can go.” he sighed. “Have a safe drive home, Clarke. Give Lexa a call when you get home so we know you made it there safely.”

“I will, Mr. Woods. I’m glad it wasn’t anything really bad, Kate. If you are going to join the team for practices, you can hang out with us at the tables until the practice is over if you’d like.”

“I’ll definitely be there. Thanks for coming Clarke.”

Clarke smiled and stepped forward to give Kate a hug, albeit awkwardly thanks to her having crutches under her arms. “See you on Monday!” she added before turning and walking over to her own car. 

Lexa helped Kate get into the back seat of the Jeep, then handed her the crutches that they managed to stow away after a bit of struggling thanks to how long they were. Gustus offered to help but Lexa waved him off telling him she has “got it”, then he watched her climb in next to Kate via the rear-view mirror and eliminate the distance between the two.

“You guys up for a snack before we head back?”

“Ice cream?” Both girls asked, causing the two in the back seat to laugh and Gustus to smile as he nodded.

“Ice cream it is. We can stop by Barry’s Cream Shack.”

Lexa’s eyes widened and she let out a shriek. “You are going to love this place. They make their own ice cream in store! It is soooo good!”

~

The trio of Gustus, Kate and Lexa made their way through the front door of their home in Polis, Lexa and Gustus kicking off their shoes and placing them on the shoe rack just inside the doorway. in Kate’s instance, Lexa kneeled down and helped take off her shoe.

Lexa said that they would be upstairs unless he needed help getting the dinner started and with the two containers of ice cream in his hands they’d bought at Barry’s, He waved them off with a nod of his head and shooed them upstairs so they could relax before dinner. Lexa helped Kate work her way up the stairs and Gustus watched on as she nearly carried Kate up the twelve steps to the second floor of the house.

When they vanished into Lexa’s bedroom and the door closed behind them, Gustus walked to the kitchen to see Indra chopping up some vegetables she was preparing. He strolled over and wrap his arms around his wife after putting the dessert away in the freezer, placing a kiss on the top of her head and receiving a sigh in relief in response.

“How is she?”

“She was quiet on the ride home. They both were. I don’t think they wanted to talk about it in front of me.”

Indra hummed an acknowledgement and placed her focus back on the knife in her hand that was busy prepping their salad. “I will go up and speak to her after I’m done with this. It might be best to give them some time.”

Gustus reached down onto the plate Indra stacked the long pieces of julienne peppers on and snatched one away before Indra had the chance to swat his hand. Of course, it didn’t stop her from offering a playful glare at her husband. “One of those containers better be mint-chocolate chip.”

“Of course. The second one if for the kids.”

“Smores?”

“Of course. Lincoln would lose his mind if we went to Barry’s and didn’t get a carton of it. It’s a good thing we had the cooler in the van.”

Indra spied her husband. “Mhmmm. And that had nothing to do with the fact you were going to Polis and that you planned on stopping by there win or lose?” 

“You know me too well.” He grinned and squeezed his wife in a hug from behind as she continued chopping the vegetables for the barbecue. He let out a sigh and rested his head on her shoulder.“Any thoughts on what might happen with the team and Lexa?”

“Right now? Not a clue.Possibly matching suspensions for Lexa and Tessa. That game was out of hand from the start.”

“After what Lexa told me about what Tess said, that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Arkadia’s coach is denying that Tessa said anything and the players are defending her as well. They told me they believe Lexa made things up and that she hit their player because of the tackle. The red card means a one game suspension, so no matter what Lexa will miss one game. The punch is another matter.”

“When do you speak to the league?”

“I’ve already put calls in. The referees are also trying to cover their asses and are denying that anything was said. The game tape will be the only evidence we have as long as it was able to pick up the conversation.” Indra was unable to hide the anger in her voice nor was it immune from being visible as she drove the knife through some carrots and into the cutting board.

“Then we wait. I’ll go get the barbecue started and prepare the meat. Chicken or steak?”

~

“So what happened?”

Lexa joined Kate on the edge of her bed and squeezed her eyes closed. After a moment she allowed herself falling back onto the soft mattress and groaned.

“I was so mad. She insulted you and then I just - I don’t know, I just hit her.”

Kate let herself lean back until she was laying beside Lexa, their shoulders pressed against each others and it had a calming effect on Lexa that prevented her from getting wound up any more than she already was. 

“She knew it would get under your skin and that was why she did it, Lex. There are ignorant people everywhere and I promise you she won’t be the last one either of us has to deal with. She was talking to you like you two knew each other. Were you friends before you moved or something?”

“Yeah, something.” Lexa grunted and rolled on to her side to face Kate as she talked and tucked her hand under her head to support it. “We played on the same community team. My folks paid a lot of money for me to play in that league because it the competition was better. We wound up on the same team.”

Kate took the opportunity to roll on to her side as well, only groaning a little when her ankle argued against the sudden movement. Lexa panicked for a second but Kate waved off her attempts to try to make her more comfortable with some pillows and asked her to continue her story instead. 

“Like I said, the team I played on was much more competitive. I’d not been to the soccer camps that most of the girls had gone to and Tessa was the queen bee of her group. They’d all gone to a number of best possible summer camps, they had the latest gear and there I was, some girl from the inner city trying to take one of their positions.” Lexa let her eyes fall down as she continued, “I didn’t have new trainers or cleats and everything I had I’d used the year before. My parents were busy trying to make their company work so they didn’t have much money to pay for much more than the athletic fees and out of town games.”

Kate felt a pit grow in her stomach. Lexa had explained that they didn’t have much money before moving to Polis, and they lived a lot like her and her mother in Tondc. The knowledge she’d given Lexa such a hard time jumping to conclusions when they’d first met without knowing her situation still hit hard. 

“I didn’t get on with many of the girls, but Tessa was the one who was the worst. If it wasn’t name calling, it was like it was in the game with cheap tackles or kicks and punches in practice.”

“Lexa, I’m so sorry.” Kate said, watching her girlfriend who was now fiddling with a loose string on her t-shirt.

“It’s ok. That’s just who she is.”

“It’s not ok, Lex. It’s never ok.” Kate leaned in and stilled Lexa’s fingers on a loose thread she was pulling at before she unraveled it and wrecked her shirt which caused Lexa to look up at her and a tear rolled over her eyelid and down her cheek.

Lexa closed her eyes again and continued, “When she said those things about you, even if it was to get me upset, it made me…” Lexa took in a shaky breath before continuing, “… I couldn’t stop myself and I just wanted to hit her over and over again. I don’t know how people can be that way.”

After a moment of silence, she felt Kate shift slightly on the bed and their lips coming together in a soft kiss that lingered for a moment. Lexa’s heart jumped in her chest and she opened her eyes to look questioningly at her girlfriend was wearing a smile on her face.

“What was that for?”

“I wanted to. That and because you said you hit her because she said things about me. How is that hand of yours by the way? I imagine you gave her a really good shot.”

“It’s fine.” Lexa grinned, showing her hand that was only slightly bruised. “It’s nothing compared to what happened to you. Speaking of your ankle, would you like some aspirin or anything? It’s been a while since we left the hospital. Is it hurting?” 

Lexa tried to stand from her bed to get Kate some water and pain relievers from her bathroom but Kate softly grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to the bed, preventing her from leaving. 

“The ones from the hospital are still working. Besides, you are helping me keep my mind off it. Want to watch some Netflix before your folks call us for dinner?”

“Sure. Any requests?”

Kate answered with a grin, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t plan on watching much of anything we put on.” 

Lexa seemed to be considering what she meant but the amusement in Kate’s eyes indicated exactly what her girlfriend was thinking. She tapped the Netflix icon on the screen and let one of her favourites auto play in the background. She carried the laptop over and placed it on the hope chest at the foot of the bed then turned to Kate to ask, 

“So…” Lexa started, biting her lip as she looked down at her girlfriend who was still sporting a grin.  
…if you weren’t planning on watching the laptop, what else do you have on your mind?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know! 
> 
> But in my defence, it's a slow burn! There will be more interactions coming up, and the one will be on Lexa's 16th birthday! Of course, you can expect Raven to be heavily involved in the festivities!


	25. Keeping A Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Lexa's 16th birthday quickly approaching, it gives everyone something to look forward to. Details are shared and Kate is enlisted to be a co-conspirator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for an update!
> 
> I hope you are all having a great week and that this chapter can help add to it. :D It starts at the tail end of the soccer drama but turns around into something a lot more enjoyable. 
> 
> Enjoy and I'll see you all again soon with another update!

It was a quiet ride back to Polis from Tondc after Kate had been safely returned to her home. Gustus remained to discuss the events of the game with Kate’s mother, Jules, which gave their two children the opportunity to spend a little more time together. They sat on the wooden deck, sitting comfortably as they could be with their shoulders were pressed up against the other in an attempt to eliminate any gap that might exist while their fingers were woven together in Kate’s lap.

“Hey.”

Lexa looked over at Kate and gave her a half-hearted smile.

“What’s on your mind, pretty girl?” Kate asked, but already knew the answer. It’s been the only thing on their mind since it happened.

“Everything.”

“Remember what your mom said and that we can’t worry about it until we know what the league offices and the school board say.” Kate echoed the words they had been told the night before.

“I’m still going to get in trouble with my mom for hitting Tessa. I think the only reason I didn’t get in trouble is because you were there.”

“Maybe I should just move in to your place then. Then I could protect you from her wrath. Besides, she isn’t as scary as she seems now that I’ve gotten to know her.”

Kate nudged Lexa’s shoulder with her own and drew a laugh she was searching for from Lexa. She lifted Kate’s hand which was still in her own and pressed her lips against her skin softly which caused Kate’s cheeks to flush slightly.

“Sorry I’ve got to be the bearer of sad news but we better get back. Are you all set to go?”

“Yeah.” Lexa said, sighing and leaning in to rest her forehead on Kate’s. They shared a small kiss because they were, after all, in front of their parents. Not because it embarrassed them but because of the non-stop teasing they were prone to receiving every time their parents witnessed the spectacle.

“I’ll see you online later?” Lexa asked as they both rose up.

“I work until seven so any time after eight?”

“It’s a date.”

“Oh Gustus look. They are just so adorable.” Jules said, her hand covering her mouth.

“You should have seen them at the hospital last night. When we were waiting for Kate…”

“Dad! Let’s go!” Lexa cut him off and spin her father around, urging him toward their Jeep with a shove while shouting over her shoulder to Kate, “See you tonight.”

“Have a safe trip and thank you for returning my crippled daughter!” Called Jules from her porch who laughed at the departing pair.

“Mo-om!”

~*~*~

When Gustus and Lexa pulled into their driveway, Raven’s eyes lit up. She was perched on the railing just next to her front door, jumping off and jogged over to where the Jeep came to a rest and gave her greeting to Gustus who returned one of his own then went inside. Raven was still wearing her jogging gear which told Lexa she hadn’t been waiting for very long, that and she was covered with a fair bit sweat. When Lexa opened her door, she was met immediately with a very sweaty and gross hug.

“Rae, Eeeew! Go shower!”

Raven didn’t move from her spot which left Lexa to peel herself from the other girl with the realization she’d now have to go get changed after another shower.

“Anything to get out of running, hey Woods?”

“I had to make sure my girlfriend got home safely.” Lexa glared at Raven after inspecting her clothes.

“So?”

“So?” Lexa quirked a solitary eyebrow after dropping her glare.

“Kate. Duh!” Raven rolled her eyes. “How is her ankle today?”

“It wasn’t hurting her as much as it was yesterday. The painkillers knocked her out pretty quickly after dinner. She was out until the morning.”

“So you two didn’t…?”

“Raven!” Lexa slapped her friends arm. “No, we didn’t.”

“I assumed as much. Relax, Lexa. You’re too easy sometimes.”

“I’m fine. Just a few stitches for the cut. Thanks for asking.”

“You’re as tough as nails. I know you’d be fine.” After a pause, Raven’s smile slowly disappeared and with it the her words took on a serious note. “How are you otherwise?”

“Otherwise?”

“You know, You. How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright. I mean, I’m angry. I’d like nothing more than to drive to Polis and finish what I started, but that won’t solve anything.”

“Smarter than I was…” Raven mumbled, almost quiet enough to not be heard.

“That happened to you and Anya?” Lexa asked with surprise.

“Last year just before Christmas. We were at the mall and while Octavia was crushing on the boy who worked at the ice cream shop in the food court, a couple older assholes decided to make our business their business and started saying things similar to what Tessa did.”

“And you hit them?”

“And I might have grabbed their food tray and spilled their food all over them. The tray may have slipped out of my hands while it happened and hit the one of the assholes in the face.” Raven grinned at Lexa’s wishful expression. “I only did that because they were throwing some of their fries toward us.”

“I could have used a food tray yesterday.”

“When my parents were contacted by their lawyer about assault charges, I kind of wish I hadn’t. I should have left it alone like Anya said to do.”

“Did they sue you?”

“No. Thankfully there were a lot of people who came forward and said that they were the instigators. The video surveillance of the mall showed them throwing food at us and their family decided not to go forward with it. They lied to their parents and last I heard they were banned from stepping foot the mall.”

“Still, it must have felt good.”

“About as good as that punch you threw yesterday I bet.” Raven cracked a smile. “But with the craziness that has gone on in the last twenty-four hours, I decided I’d give you something for your birthday a little bit early.”

“Rae, you didn’t have to get me anything. Besides, my birthday isn’t for another week.” Lexa protested. Of course she’d be lying if she wasn’t at least a little curious. Even more-so as she watched on as Raven walked up and banged on the wooden door of the garage.

“Ok, Mr. Woods. Open’er up!”

Lexa smiled because of what was unfolding in front of her. She watched each panel of the door slide upward. When it stopped, Lexa stood there with her jaw hanging open at what she saw sitting on the ground next to her bike.

“The parts may not be new, but they are as good as they can be otherwise.” Raven suggested, hoping that her present served as a pleasant distraction. It didn’t take long before she knew her answer.

“Raven!” she shrieked and threw her arms around her friend in a tight squeeze. So much so, Raven had to remind her of her need to breathe. As soon as Lexa let go, she ran into the garage to stand beside Gustus who was next to her motorcycle leaving Raven to grin as she recovered from Lexa’s python-like hug.

“Wait. I can’t accept this.” Lexa froze. “It had to have cost you a fortune! The gear cluster alone…” Lexa’s eyes were still blown wide open.

“The guy who owns the scrap yard is a good friend of mine.” Raven explained. “I get cost plus ten percent at anything that comes through there for my projects and I asked him to keep his eyes and ears open for a ‘73 Triumph.”

“That means I’ll be able to ride it as soon as I get my license!” Lexa shouted. “Kate’s gonna flip out when she sees it.”

“Only after you take your lessons and pass the road test with flying colours. ” Gustus reminded her while adding an additional caveat he felt important to include. “And only after your mother and I see you are a responsible motorist will you be allowed to ride your bike unsupervised on any road that goes over thirty miles per hour.”

Lexa was far too excited to disagree to his demands and enthusiastically launched herself at him with for a hug.

“I’ll be the safest rider on the road. I promise!”

“I was going to put it together for you but your dad warned me and said you would probably kill me for touching your baby. After seeing your right hook, I figured to just lay the parts out and leave you to it.”

“There’s no might about it.” Lexa grinned at Raven after separating herself from her father. “We’d just have to move again.”

“Again?” Raven laughed at the possibility but Lexa stared after dropping her grin, not an ounce of humour in her features. Even Gustus stood there and crossed his arms for dramatic effect. After a moment of silence from the father and daughter, Raven’s laughter ceased and she as warily observed them.

“God Rae, relax! You are too easy sometimes.” Lexa laughed, stepping forward and giving her shoulder a light shove. “I’d be happy of you helped me put her together.”

“Just tell me when and I’ll be here.”

“How about you take those hands home and have a shower then you can come back so we can figure it out. You stink.” Lexa pinched her nose closed and squinted to add emphasis.

“Whatever. You love me and you know it!” Raven said, squeezing Lexa in another sweaty hug while ignoring the playful protest Lexa was offering before finally releasing her and heading back in the direction of her own home.

~*~*~

“So Kate, still wish you were out there on the field?” Clarke asked, pointing to the girls on the practice field.

Kate answered Clarke’s question with a nod and a “yeah” as she took in the scene before her, all her teammates were doubled over, sweat dripping off their faces and hands on their knees to stop them from falling forward to the grass. A number of them were gulping down as much air as they could in order to feed their starving lungs the oxygen they demanded from the sprints they had to run once again.

 _‘Win as a team, Lose as a team_.’ she told herself.

At the onset of practice, she was on the player bench but a few wayward strikes of the balls caused them to hit the bench right beside. It almost seemed as though they were making those terrible shots on purpose but Kate decided that it was just an off-practice for a few of the girls. Unfortunately, the risk of greater injury caused Indra to send her away from the player benches which caused Kate to be less than pleased. She promised to be more careful but that was when Octavia suggested to Indra that Kate wait over by the picnic tables for practice to end.

Indra conferred with the other coaches and agreed they would allow it “just for today” and that she would find something for her to do during future practices. Even Lexa wasn’t allowed to participate in a full practice thanks to her stitches.

As for Lexa, the coaches decided her injury wasn’t as severe and that she was more than capable of helping run drills until her arm no longer required a sling in order prevent the stitches from being torn. She’d only been warned twice about wandering over to the tables to talk with her friends and Kate’s eyes rarely strayed from where Lexa’s figure was on the field.

“That’s just way too much running for me.” Monty mused,

“I think it’s time we brought this up and It’s clear we’re not going to be able to have this talk after practice when Lexa gets here so… Kate, did you have anything special planned for Lexa’s birthday?”

“We, I mean… she doesn’t really want to do anything. She asked me if I’d be willing to just come to Polis and go see a movie or just a quiet dinner.”

“Oh hell no. Does Kate know what we have planned?” Murphy said as he arrived at the tables and overheard Lexa’s suggestion for her birthday.

“Lexa said in Chem she didn’t want a big party in chemistry class.” Monty explained. “You should have seen how understanding Raven was. She even suggested we should all get together for a quiet dinner at a restaurant.”

“Lexa believed her?” Emori laughed, trying to imagine Raven pretending she hadn’t already planned Lexa’s 16th birthday party a month ago.

“What do you mean?” Kate asked, glancing around at the others at the table. She was still getting to know everyone in Lexa’s circle but there were still many things about their dynamics she was trying to figure out.

Monty had a grin on his face and Emori hid her face in her hands mumbling something about not getting banned from the park. That caused Kate’s panic meter to rise a couple levels and she suspiciously watched on as Murphy took his seat seat next to Emori and gave her a kiss in greeting.

“Well it’s her 16th birthday party so the rule is that it’s gotta be big, right? And nothing says big like a huge surprise party in the park. There will be some barbecue, a little music, her girlfriend and her friend all together in peaceful nature.”

“A party in a park? That’s not so bad. Why would we get banned from the park?” Kate wasn’t sure if she should ask, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Nobody said anything at first and it was only when Clarke took the proverbial ball that she got any answers.

“Raven is incharge of the music and other… entertainment.” Clarke smiled innocently.

“And the other entertainment will get us banned from the park?”

“Well, there’s a standing order from the fire department that Raven isn’t allowed to launch fireworks any more. She saw a documentary on glowing algae and wanted to make the lake glow with some sort of bioluminescence-thing. As cool as it would have been, we had to get her to drop that idea. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, altering the chemical composition of a lake is a big no-no even if it’s for Lexa’s birthday.”

“She was going to make an entire lake glow for Lexa’s birthday?” Kate asked with astonishment.

“Well… yes and no. She’s always wanted to do it and she figured with the DJ playing, it would be a pretty crazy atmosphere.”

“She wasn’t kidding about Raven. I mean, she can get crazy on game days but wow. So the stories are real. Wait, did you say DJ?”

Clarke nodded. “Fortunately we’re restricted her to fireworks and music only. Whatever you do, you can’t tell anyone about this. Especially Lexa.”

Kate swallowed hard at that. She wasn’t sure she could keep something as big as this from Lexa but she made a promise to herself to try.

“So, when’s the party?”

“Oh yeah. She’s in.” Monty raised his hands in victory.

“Party is next Friday night. The entire team is invited and if we can swing it, everyone will probably be able to crash at our places. That or book a room in a motel for the night. We’ve already got you and Lexa covered so don’t worry about that.”

“We’ll be lucky if we don’t get a place to sleep at one of the finer state-run motels once the police show up.” Emori laughed.

“That’s my girl. Always the optimist.” Murphy joked and grinned at her, receiving a nudge in his shoulder for his comment.

“I’m not going to end up in jail, am I?” Kate asked with some reservation.

“Oh god no. You are just going for a walk with Lexa to celebrate her birthday and came upon this awesome party. In no way will you two get in any trouble. I promise.” Clarke swore, raising her hand as if she were pledging.

“Does the team know?” Kate asked.

“They don’t, yet. Which is why we need you to tell them all on the bus when you go home tonight.” Clarke explained. “Then I need a list from you about people who are going to be there. Once we get that squared away, we can figure out food, drinks, and other.”

“Other?” Kate asked, glancing around the group. “I don’t do drugs…” she added with hesitancy. She didn’t want to judge any of Lexa’s friends but more-so make them aware of her preferences.

“Totally optional. Some of the people will have some weed, but we definitely wouldn’t ever offer that stuff to anyone. Other refers to alcohol.”

“I see. I don’t really drink but I can help chip in for food or something if you guys want.”

“The only thing you have to contribute to the whole soiree is to keep Lexa happy for the evening. Everything is already taken care of. Gustus and Indra are providing the food and a chaperone until it starts getting later in the evening.”

“That’s when the fun will really begin.” Monty added.

“That sounds great. I mean, I can’t really do any of the carrying or hard labour stuff but I want to help.” Kate said.

“You are doing all the ground work in getting your teammates on board. Besides, you have to keep Lexa occupied and unsuspecting that there is a party happening in the middle of the woods.”

“You think she’ll buy it?”

“Who is buying something?” Came the sound of Lexa’s voice as she approached the tables that were filled with her friends and more importantly, her girlfriend. She walked around the table and as she sat down, wrapped her arms around Kate’s waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Um, Clarke was telling me that Raven wants some sort of glowing water-thing.” Kate stammered, drawing a questioning gaze from Lexa.

“She means bioluminescence. Raven was talking about a documentary she saw about how an entire lake in Australia glows at night thanks to some sort of microbial bacteria.”

“Gippsland Lakes? Did you know it wasn’t always that way? It was caused by the brush fire in 2008 that put too much organic material in the lake.” Lexa stated as a matter of fact. “There are a few places in the US that you can see bioluminescence but the best one I hear is in Puerto Rico. I hear that one is really bright.”

Silence fell over the group as they all stared at Lexa who was obliviously reaching up and tucking come of Kate’s shoulder length sandy brown hair that had fallen free from her pony tail up and over her ear. Realizing there was dead silence, she glanced around at everyone and shrugged.

“What?”


	26. Lexa's Birthday Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets together for Lexa's birthday which she believed would be an intimate affair with a few of her friends. Clarke's relationship with Finn raises a red flag for one of her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!
> 
> Here is part one of two of Lexa's 16th birthday. I hope it brings a lot of questions about what could happen in part two!

“We’re heading out.” Lexa called from the front door to any parent within shouting distance.

“As long as you remember the rules.” Gustus stated, crossing his solid arms as he rested against the door frame between the hallway and the living room.

“We will, I promise.”

“And, I expect you two to make sure she follows the rules.” he added as he pointed a finger toward both Octavia and Lincoln.

“We will, Mr. Woods.” Octavia raised her hand as if swearing an oath. It didn’t matter how many times she’d been told Gustus was actually not as scary as his frame made him appear, Octavia was making sure she had all her bases covered.

“Alright, now that we’ve promised my dad I can’t have any ‘actual’ fun tonight, can we get going?” Lexa groaned as she pulled Octavia through the newly opened door.

“You just want to go see Ka-ate!” Octavia sang as teasingly as she could which earned her a pinch in her side from Lexa before she could get out of her long reach.

“Good luck.” Gustus grinned at his son and turned to head back into the living room. “And the rules go for you as well.”

“I know.” Lincoln sighed, grabbing his favourite hoodie off the hook next to the door and moving to join Lexa and Octavia who was currently running around the Jeep in order to stay away from Lexa. “See you later.”

~*~*~

Lexa wirelessly linked her playlist to the car stereo immediately after Lincoln started the vehicle which resulted in both Lexa and Octavia spending the entire thirty minute drive to the state park singing along with the music that poured from the speakers. Before they knew it, they’d left the city and tires met gravel as Lincoln pulled onto a dirt road that informed them of their destination and led deeper into the park.

There were cars lined up along both sides of the road which at first didn’t seem unusual but the farther they drove Lexa expected to see the number of cars decrease. Instead, there were people walking along side of cars which lined both sides of the road and it had forced Lincoln to slow down more than he normally would. Some people she recognized from school and others were just randoms but they were all heading in the same direction.

“Why are all these people here?” Lexa asked, her eyes trying to scan ahead to see through the front windshield. The road turned ahead which made it difficult for her to get a really good look due to the pine trees that blocked her line of sight.

“Raven might have told Kate to tell a few people from Tondc there was a party here tonight. That and friends of friends. You know how it goes.” Octavia shrugged of her shoulders.

“Are we allowed to have a party with this many people? We can’t possibly control it if things go out of control.” Lexa warned.

“Hey, birthday girl. Relax! The only thing you should be worried about is having fun. Let everyone else worry about that stuff. Besides, Raven has it covered. Octavia grinned as she rolled down the windows so they could begin to hear the sound system that was blasting out top 40. Lexa couldn’t help but recall the conversation from the other day and that his was certainly much different than a “few friends in the park” like she was promised.  
They rounded the corner and Lexa couldn’t hide her smile when she saw the gigantic glittery sign that read; ‘Lexa’s 16th Birthday Bash!’. and below it there two traffic cones and a smaller sign that further said; ‘If you park here and are not the birthday girl, You can retrieve your car from the bottom of the lake tomorrow morning.’

“Looks like we’ve got the best spot.” Lincoln laughed. 

It had been arranged beforehand that they would have a spot as close to their destination as possible. As he parked, a few of the people who had been walking from the entrance of the park to the party threw him a couple glares and obviously unaware that the guest of honour was in the vehicle. The trio hopped out of the Jeep and Octavia and Lincoln escorted Lexa toward the tables they had all agreed to meet at. 

The cry of “Lexa!” rang out, causing the girl in question to spin around to witness the pair of Raven and Clarke running full speed at her. They got very close and slowed their pace on account of her arm in a sling but that didn’t prevent them both from wrapping her in an enormous hug that ended only when she groaned about needing air to breathe.

“Guys, why are there so many people out here? How… how did you get all this out here?” Lexa asked, her eyes scanning around but really only looking for one person in particular. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

“Are you kidding? This is your 16th and I’ve been working at this with everyone here for the last three weeks! This is going to be the best birthday your going to ever have!”

“That is a pretty big promise, Reyes.” Lexa grinned. 

“Maybe I can help with that?”

Lexa would recognize that voice anywhere. She didn’t need to spin around as quickly as she did but she was rewarded by the vision of her girlfriend standing there with a smile on her face. Kate stepped forward and gave Lexa a kiss that cave everyone around them reason to whistle and cheer. Kate pulled back and the heat was clearly visible in Lexa’s cheeks.

“Happy birthday, Lex.”

“Best birthday ever.” Lexa mumbled to herself through a growing grin.

“Alright, alright. Save it for later, you two. Right now we go over the rules.” Raven teasingly groaned.

“My dad already gave me a rundown on rules, Raven.” Lexa sighed, turning her head to look at Raven who was pointing to a sign behind the DJ. “There are more rules?” Lexa scanned the list Raven had created.

“Raven, we can’t possibly enforce that list of rules.” Lexa stated.

“Woah, Lexa. Your only job tonight is to have fun. Let me and the others handle the enforcement of the rules. As for drugs and alcohol, that’s more for covering our asses if anyone does have it. All I’m providing people is water, soda, and music. We get busted here with any substances, I’m never going to be allowed to do this again.”

“This place is going to be a mess.” Lexa remarked. She couldn’t help but imagine the mess so many people would make. 

“Hey. What’d I just say?” Raven asked, stepping forward and poking Lexa lightly in the chest. “Kate, your girlfriend looks like she could use something to take her mind off things.”

“On it.” Kate stated as though she was receiving an order. She thrust a bottle of water in Lexa’s hand and before Lexa knew it, Kate tucked her crutch under her arm, grabbed Lexa by her free hand and slowly led her to a spot of dried earth that had been designated to be a make-shift dance floor. “C’mon, Lex. Let’s dance!”

Lexa continued to glance back and wonder what was going on, especially when she saw Raven pulling everyone together conspiratorially, many of whom occasionally glanced her way with grins on their faces. It seemed a number of the girls from the Panthers were involved in whatever Raven had been planning as they all began to make their way over to her friends position. 

“Hey, eyes over here.” Kate said, reaching up and using her fingertips to guide Lexa’s chin so she could see Lexa’s green eyes on her own hazel ones. She dropped her crutch and rested her arms over Lexa’s shoulders to help compensate for her foot.

“Sorry.” Lexa said, a little red returning to her cheeks. After a moment, Lexa recovered and smiled with a question in her eyes that made it’s way to Kate’s ears. “Did you know about all this?”

“Of course. Well, most of it. I only found out about coming here this week. We weren’t sure if we could get a permit to come here or not. Raven managed to get her parents to set up the legal stuff otherwise we couldn’t have the music without it.”

Lexa gave Kate a quick kiss and smiled. The pair swayed to the music, and both let out a pair of contented sighs. Lexa couldn’t help but think about how much her life had taken a sharp since moving to Polis. All she knew is she was happy and it felt like with all these new people in her life, this was a place she belonged.

“You can rest your weight on me more if you need to.” Lexa said, glancing down at Kate’s air cast.

“Mmm, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” Kate smiled and took the opportunity to erase all the space between them. “If it gets sore, maybe we can go sit by the lake for a while?”

“That would be perfect.”

For a while, Lexa and Kate got lost in the rhythm of the music and both of them closed their eyes and it was quite a while before either made a sound other than a contented sigh. It was Lexa that broke the comfortable silence between them.

“Kate?”

“Hmm?” She asked, not opening her eyes and adjusting her chin on Lexa’s shoulders and enjoying the comfort the closeness provided.

“What does Raven have planned for later?”

Kate pulled back a little bit from Lexa and shook her head disapprovingly while sporting a grin. She knew Lexa wouldn’t be able to restrain herself from asking. 

“Lexa Woods! Are you trying to squeeze your girlfriend for information?”

“Me?” Lexa saw the game she was playing so she feigned innocence.

“Yes, you.” Kate playfully accused.

“I’m just wondering if I’m going to have to call the fire department.”

“I think we’ll be okay. Besides, part of it is my idea.”

Lexa spied here suspiciously but smiled as she pulled Kate back in the reclaim their closeness. “Then I am sure everything will be fine.”

“I hope so too.” Kate added, but there was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Wait, what?” Lexa pulled back again quickly.

“Oh relax! Everything is going to be fine.” Kate laughed and placed a kiss on Lexa’s cheek and relaxed her head on her shoulder once again.

Lexa nodded and turned to kiss Kate’s forehead. “Okay.” Lexa felt herself relenting to Kate’s demand but she couldn’t resist one last glance in the direction of where she last saw Raven and everyone else. They’d disbursed and Lexa wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

~*~*~

“Where’s your plus one, Clarkie?” Anya asked, sliding into a seat next to Clarke on the bench that overlooked the lake and leaned into the blonde’s shoulder with her own.

Clarke continued to look out over the lake and shrugged slightly. “He’s supposed to be here at eight. Something about having a family thing to do for his dad again.”

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah. Everything is good. Lexa seems to like the party. I think she and Kate were pulled away to play ‘not-beer pong’.”

“You and Raven aren’t playing?”

“She’s busy trying to get some kids to stop smoking pot over by the washrooms. I hadn’t seen you in a while so I figured I would see how you are doing.”

Anya glanced back up at the scene that could be considered chaos by most observers. Kids were laughing and dancing while the music blared in the background. Thankfully most of the participants had been adhering to Raven’s rules for the party and those that didn’t were escorted away thanks to the contingent of seniors who were also members of the Polis Panthers football squad. After the quick scan of the festivities, she turned her attention back to Clarke.

“Don’t tell Lexa because I’m sure she’d kick Lincoln’s ass for saying, but it’s the first party she’s ever had that wasn’t in state care or alone with her brother and parents.”

“Really?” Clarke couldn’t help but look over at Anya with disbelief. “She’s never had a party?”

“Not really. At least, that’s what I have been told.”

Clarke smiled warmly and looked back out over the lake. “Well, I’m glad she is enjoying herself.” 

Anya nodded her agreement. “So, what’s been up with you two?”

“Me and Lexa?” Clarke seemed surprised by the question.

“No. You and Finn. He hasn’t been hanging out after school like he used to and you haven’t been talking about him much.”

Clarke shifted and did her best to prevent the uncomfortable look that appeared on her face. “It’s a pretty big deal for his dad that he follows in his footsteps so he’s been spending a lot of time on the base. He pretty much has to go straight home after school.”

“Hey.” Anya reached over and pulled her arm around Clarke, squeezing her into a sideways hug. “If you want to talk about it, let me know. Or maybe, If you just want to vent or anything…?”

“Thanks Anya but I’m good. We’re good. I promise.”

Clarke knew that Anya didn’t believe her so she kept looking out over the lake hoping that if she stared long enough that Anya might go away. The last thing she could do was turn and look at Anya because if she did, she wouldn’t be able to stop what was bubbling up inside her.

“Clarke!” called a familiar approaching voice.

“Speak of the devil and he appears.” Anya grinned, watching Clarke stand up so she could give him a hug.

“I thought you couldn’t make it until after eight o’clock?” Clarke asked as she stepped back.

“He had something to deal with on the base. I just have to be back before eleven.”

Finn lifted his hands and brushed back his hair and both Clarke and Anya could see a small white bandage over his forehead near his hairline. Now that he was closer, Anya studied him and could see a number of light bruises on his jaw which led her to frown.

“Glad you could make it, Finn.” Anya took the opportunity to step forward and give him a hug. She wished she knew more about the boy but aside from having a good sense of humour and Clarke’s interest. There wasn’t much that anyone knew of him because he and Clarke had a fairly private relationship, especially of late. “Are you okay?”

“I’m great.” He answered but he could see her eyes were focused on the bandage. “Oh, you mean this?” He pointed to the bandage and shrugged. “Training, you know how it is. The army needs tough recruits and a Major’s son has to be the best.”

“Just be careful.” Anya advised. “We’ve already got two friends down with injuries. We don’t need to make it a trio.”

“It will take more than a PT course to keep me down.”

“Anya, give him a break. He just got here.” Clarke interjected, drawing a questioning look from Anya.

“I was just curious. I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

“This is a party, right? Do we have any mix?” Finn asked with a grin on his face. He reached into the pocket of his black leather jacket and pulled out a small bottle of amber liquid.

“You brought alcohol? Don’t let Raven see you with that.” Clarke warned. “She’s like a bloodhound when it comes to people breaking her rules. She’s already kicked out a group who smuggled in some rum.”

“We don’t drink anyway.” Anya added, frowning at the bottle in his hand.

“I don’t know, Ahn. It is a party.” Clarke suggested, reaching out and taking hold of the bottle. “Besides, Raven won’t kick me out if she sees me with it.”

“Clarke. You don’t drink.”

“Come on, Anya.” Clarke groaned. “When we’re eighteen and at the bar we can laugh about how we had our first drink at Lexa’s sixteenth birthday party.” Clarke could see doubt beginning to form in Anya’s eyes so she shook the bottle and grinned. “This isn’t much anyway.”

“Clarke…”

“She doesn’t have to have any if she doesn’t want to.” Finn stepped in, giving Anya a reason to sigh in relief but that only lasted until he resumed speaking. “If she doesn’t then there’s more for us.”

“That’s right! Come on. Let’s get something to mix it with.” Clarke laughed and threw her arm around Finn’s in order to lead Finn toward a few coolers that had the various types of soda.

Anya stood there for a minute and watched them walk away. This was very unlike Clarke and she found herself fighting a war of two minds. She could ignore the pair and keep a close eye on them throughout the night, or find Raven and tell her that Finn had smuggled in some liquor. The likelihood that Raven might just take the liquor and glare at them was high, but she knew that Clarke would react negatively. Aside from when Lexa arrived with Lincoln and Octavia, Clarke had been in a somber mood and it was only as Finn called out her name she saw her mood pick up.

Anya sighed and came to the decision that she would just keep a careful eye on the pair. As long as they could keep out of trouble and under Raven’s radar, the night would hopefully go as planned.


End file.
